'^MZ^i^c'-''' 


MEMOIES 

OF 


PEINCE    METTEENICH 


.'xyv'  w  v  »^  AyvxvA/v/x/ 


THIRD    VOLUME 


MEMOIES 

OF 

PEINCE     METTEENICH 

1815-1829 

EDITED    BY 

PEINCE   EICHAED   METTEEXICH 


TRE  PAPERS  CLASSIFIED  AND  ARRANGED  BY  M.  A.  de  KLINKOWSTROM 


TRANSLATED  BY  MRS  ALEXANDER  NAPIER 


VOLUME  III. 


NEW  YORK 

CHAELES    SCEIBNEE'S    SONS 

743  AND  745  Broadway 

1881 


/ 


PREFATOBY    NOTE. 

The  reader  having  now  advanced  well  into  the  Memoirs 
of  Prince  Metternich,  a  few  remarks  as  to  their  arrange- 
ment may  not  be  without  interest. 

The  two  volumes  already  published  contain  a  history 
of  the  Prince's  career  from  1773  to  the  peace  of  1815, 
chiefly  in  the  Memoirs  he  left  behind  him.  These 
Memoirs  do  not  extend,  however,  in  their  completed 
form  beyond  the  period  of  the  Congress  of  Vienna,  with 
a  brief  exception  during  the  closing  years  of  the  Prince's 
hfe. 

The  history  of  the  important  events  contained  in 
the  present  volumes  is  drawn,  therefore,  from  the  private 
correspondence  of  Prince  Metternich,  which  is  at  this 
period  very  copious  and  interesting,  and,  being  addressed 
to  members  of  his  family  or  to  intimate  friends,  is  less 
formal  than  the  autobiography.  We  here  meet  also 
with  the  first  impressions  of  the  Prince  on  the  events 
of  the  day,  imparted  freely  in  confidence,  with  no  idea 
of  their  future  publication,  to  some  of  the  chief  per- 
sonages of  the  State. 

The  present  volumes  deal  principally  witli  the  inter- 
nal affairs  of  the  Austrian  Empire  in  the  years  181G  and 
1817  ;  the  period  of  the  Congresses,  1818  to  1822  ;  and 


VI  PREFATORY   NOTE. 

the    complications    arising    from    the    Russian  advance 
upon  Turkey,  ending  in  1829. 

The  succeeding  vohimes  will  embrace  the  period 
from  the  July  Revolution  of  1830  to  the  retirement  of 
Prince  Metternich  in  1848,  also  the  last  eleven  years  of 
the  Prince's  hfe. 

The  reception  which  the  earlier  volumes  of  this 
work  have  met  with  from  the  public  is  a  proof  of  the 
universal  and  lively  interest  taken  in  the  life  of  the 
great  Chancellor. 

In  the  criticisms  which  have  appeared,  notwith- 
standing the  diversities  of  national  feeling  and  senti- 
ment, the  master-spirit  of  the  great  statesman,  and  the 
important  role  he  played  during  the  most  brilliant 
2:)eriod  of  Austria's  power,  are  unanimously  acknow- 
ledged. 

A  fresh  generation  has  sprung  up.  These  Memoirs 
will  place  before  it  a  life-like  portrait  of  Prince  Metter- 
nich. 

EDITOR. 


CONTENTS 


OF 


THE     THIRD     VOLUME. 


FOURTH  BOOK. 


THE   INTERNAL   AFFAIRS  OF   THE  EMPIRE   IN   THE 


YEARS  1816,    1817. 


The  Year  1816: 


Ideas  on  a  Concordat  of  all  the  States  of  the  German  Confedera- 
tion with  the  Ivomau  Court  (208)     .         .         . 

The  Treaty  of  Munich  concerning  the  Cession  of  Detached  Portions 
of  the  Country  of  Bavaria  to  Austria  (210)  . 

Metteruicli's  Leave  of  Absence  (211) 

Kegulation  of  Money  (212,  213) 

The  Year  1817 : 

Journey  to  Leghorn  in  the  Suite  of  the  Archduchess  Leopoldine, 

the  nevrly  married  Princess  of  Portugal  (214  to  227) 
At  the  Baths  of  Lucca  (228  to  233)      "  . 
Conclusion  of  the  Course  of  Baths  at  Lucca  (234) 
Visit  to  the  Courts  of  Modena  and  Parma  (235  to  237)    . 
The  Existence  of  Sects  in  Central  Europe  (238)    . 
The  Bible  Societies  and  the  Emperor  Alexander  (239  to  241 ) 
The  Intentions  of  Naples  as  to  Benevento  and  Pontecorvo  (242) 
Organisation  of  the  Central  Administration  in  Austria  (243.  244) 
Tlie  Internal  Condition  of  Italy  (24-5,  246)  .         .         .         . 
Annals  of  Literature  (247,  248)       ..... 
Negotiation  with  Rome  on  Ecclesiastical  Affairs  (240) 


PAGE 

3 

9 

14 
15 


24 
45 
53 
54 

58 
(52 
71 
74 
88 
108 
110 


FIFTH   BOOK. 
LUSTRUM  OF  THE   CONGRESS. 


The  Year  1818 : 

The  Carlsbad  Waters  (250  to  257) 

Journey  to  the  Rhine  (258  to  265)  . 

Residence  in  Aix  and  Return  to  Vienna  (266,  2Q7) 

The  Journey  to  Aix  (268  to  298)     . 

The  Congress  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  (299  to  302)      . 


117 
126 
140 
165 

182 


vm 


CONTENTS  OF  THE  THIRD  VOLUME. 


Results  of  the  Congress  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  :  a  Memoir,  by  Gentz 

(303) '       .     .  189 

Projects  for  Reforms  in  Prussia  (304  to  306)        .         .         .         .197 

On  the  Question  of  the  Jews  (307) 209 

The  Year  1819 : 

Letters  from  Rome,  Naples,  and  Perugia  (308  to  326)  .         .         .211 

Letters  from  Italy  and  Carlsbad  (327  to  334) 240 

The  Assassination  of  Kotzebue  (335  to  350)          ....  253 
Metternich's  Meetings  with  Kiug  Frederick  William   at  Teplitz 

(351,352)    . 295 

Results  of  the  Carlsbad  Conferences  (353  to  359)          .         .         .  309 

From  Carlsbad  to  Vienna:  Letters  (360  to  373)       .          ...  333 

Beginning  of  the  Vienna  Conferences  (374  to  378)         .         .         .  343 

Object  and  Importance  of  the  Conferences  (379,  380)      .         .     .  347 

Tht:  Year  1820: 

Eventsof  the  Day  and  Family  Life:  Letters  (381  to  407)  .         ,  357 

Excursions  into  Bohemia  and  Cobnrg :  Letters  (408  to  425)     .     .  374 

Outbreak  of  the  Neapolitan  Revolution  :  Letters  (426  to  445)       .  385 

From  Troppau:  Letters  (446  to  467) 397 

Progress  of  the  Vieinia  Conferences  :  Letters  (468  to  470)    .         .  409 
Wurtemberg's  Resistance  to  the  Competence  of  the  Vienna  Con- 
ferences (471  to  473) 414 

Metternich's  German  Policy  (474) 422 

Results  of  the  (Conferences  in  Vienna  (475,  470)       .         .         .     .  428 

Stateof  Political  Affiiirs,  May  1820  (477) 432 

Austria's  Position  with  Regard  to  the  Revolution  in  Naples  (478 

to  480) 433 

Results  of  the  Troppau  Congress  (431  to  485)      ....  443 

Metternich's  Political  Profession  of  Faith  (486  to  488)     .         .     .  453 

The  Year  1821 : 

The  Congress  at  Laybach  :  Letters  (480  to  525)  .         .         .         .477 

Return  to  Vienna :  Letters  (526  to  542) 498 

Visit  to  the  Court  of  Hanover  :  Letters  (543  to  546)  .         .         .  509 

Expense  of  the  Neapolitan  Expedition,  &c.  (547)     .         .          .     .  513 
The  Neapolitan,  Piedmontese,  and  Greek  Insurrections  (548  to 

550) 519 

Co-operation  of  the  Russian  Army  (551)          ...         .     .  528 

Results  of  the  Laybach  Congress  (552  to  554)       ....  535 
Metternich's  Mission  to  King  George  IV.  of  England  in  Hanover 

( 555,  550) 

Prince  de  Carignan's  Share  in  the   Revolutionary  Intrigues   in 

Piedmont  (557) 


553 
561 


The  Year  1822: 

Complications  with  f  !apo  d'Istria,  i^-c. :  Letters  (558  to  002)    .     . 
On  the  Journey  to  V(>vona  and  back  :  Letters  (603  to  614)  . 
Austi-ia's  Attitude  in  the  Eastern  Questitm  (615)     .         .         .     . 
Tatistscheff's  Mission  to  Vienna,  &c.  (616  to  621) 
Victory  of  the  Austrian  over  the  Russian  Cabinet  (622  to  625)    . 
Outbreak  of  the  Spanish  Revolution  (626,  627)         .  .         .     . 

Austria's  Understanding  with  England  on  the  Eastern  Question 

(«28)        

Results  of  the  Congress  of  Verona  (629  to  636)        .... 


564 
593 
601 
609 
626 
637 

639 
651 


BOOK  lY. 


THE  REGULATION  OE  THE  INTERNAL  AFFAIRS 

OF  THE  EMPIRE. 

1816-1817. 


VOL.  If  I.  B 


TEE  INTERNAL  AFFAIRS  OF  THE  EMPIRE  IN 
THE   YEARS  1816-1817. 

1816. 


IDEAS  ON  A  CONCORDAT  OF  ALL  THE  STATES 
OF  THE  GERMAN  CONFEDERATION  WITH  THE 
ROMAN  COURT. 

208.  Metternicli  to  the  Emperor  Francis,  Verona,  April  5,  1816. 

208.  During  the  negotiation  of  German  affairs 
at  the  Vienna  Congress,  I  made  it  my  duty  to  direct 
the  attention  of  the  ambassadors  there  assembled  to  the 
advantages  which  must  ensue  to  the  whole  German 
body  politic,  as  well  as  to  the  Princes  themselves, 
from  a  uniform  treatment  of  the  general  affairs  of  the 
Church  (now  in  a  deplorable  state)  at  the  future  Diet. 
I  at  that  time  maintained  the  closest  intercourse  with 
the  vicars  of  Constance  and  Mlinster,  who  were  at 
Vienna,  and  I  believe  that  I  prevented  the  acceptance 
of  the  views  of  a  so-called  deputation  from  the  German 
Church  then  in  Vienna,  which  consisted  of  some  wild 
enthusiasts  who,  probably  without  intending  it  them- 
selves, acted  in  the  most  exaggerated  interests  of  the 
Eoman  Church.  The  principle  that  ecclesiastical  affairs 
should  be  considered  in  council  at  Frankfurt  met  with 
general  approval  from  the  German  Princes  of  the  second 
and  third  class.     The  Kins;  of  Wurtemberj^  alone,  intent 

B  2 


4  INTERNAL   AFFAIRS   OF   THE   EMPIRE. 

upon  his  so-called  rights  of  sovereignty,  who  had,  in 
consequence  of  those  very  principles,  taken  no  direct 
part  in  the  last  negotiations,  endeavoured  to  isolate 
himself  from  this  ecclesiastical  question  also,  and,  with- 
out further  ceremony,  to  enter  into  negotiations  with 
the  Eoman  Court  about  a  concordat  of  his  own. 

Cardinal  Consalvi,  whose  general  political  conduct 
cannot  be  sufficiently  praised,  remained  faithful  to  the 
promise  I  had  obtained  from  him,  that  he  would  enter 
into  no  separate  negotiation  with  German  Princes  with- 
out my  consent.  He  referred  the  matter  to  Rome. 
The  conclusion  of  the  Congress,  and  the  great  military 
and  political  events  which  followed  it,  brought  these 
intrigues  to  an  end.  ' 

Since  the  meeting  of  the  German  Ambassadors  at 
Frankfurt  I  have  given  your  Majesty's  ministers  instruc- 
tions concerning  this  matter  ;  and  the  efforts  of  the 
King  of  Wurtemberg  for  a  speedy  and  separate  con- 
cordat with  Eome  smoothed  the  way  quite  naturally. 
Up  to  this  time  I  have  succeeded  in  preventing  this 
concordat. 

I  agree  with  Councillor  Lorenz*  on  the  subject 
of  a  common  basis  for  the  negotiation  of  the  affairs 
of  the  German  Church,  based  on  our  ecclesiastical 
principles ;  and  I  have  only  to  point  out  the  further 
course  of  an  affair  which  I  consider  one  of  the 
most  important  that  has  to  be  decided  at  the  future 
Diet. 

In  this,  as  in  every  great  negociation,  very  much 
depends  on  the  point  of  view  from  which  it  is  taken 
into  consideration.  In  my  opinion,  Germany  must  be 
induced  to  adopt  an  ecclesiastical  constitution,  and  to 

*  He  had  given  an  official  report  concerning  the  future  ecclesiastical 
constitution,  which  was  submitted  to  Metternich's  attention. — Ed. 


DESIRE  FOR  A  CONCORDAT.  5 

accept  our  principles  without  our  appearing  too  eager 
to  obtrude  those  principles  on  Germany. 

By  a  judicious  course  we  shall,  moreover,  set  a 
good  example  to  the  German  Princes  ;  our  principles 
will  become  popular  in  the  very  same  measure  as  they 
seem  to  have  sprung  up  in  Germany  ;  our  position 
with  regard  to  the  Eoman  Court  itself  remains  correct 
and  vigorous,  and  will  even  serve  as  a  protection  if  we 
by  our  example  bar  the  way  to  the  exaggerated  claims 
here  and  there  put  forth,  as  always  happens  in  the 
course  of  human  aflliirs.  Urged  by  these  various  con- 
siderations, I  should  much  prefer  to  make  sure  of  the 
views  of  some  excellent  superintendent  of  a  German 
church,  and  leave  him  undisturbed  to  take  the  initia- 
tive in  the  arrangement  to  be  made.  It  seems  to  me 
certain  that  Baron  von  Wessenberg — who  has  meantime 
been  appointed  coadjutor  at  Constance,  and  has  been 
confirmed  in  this  office  by  the  Pope — is  most  fit  for  our 
purpose  :  he  enjoys  the  general  confidence  in  Germany, 
and,  I  believe,  also  that  of  Councillor  von  Lorenz. 

If  your  Majesty  vouchsafes  your  approval,  I  propose 
to  inform  this  minister  of  our  ideas  fully  and  without 
delay,  and  this  can  probably  best  be  achieved  by 
sendino;  to  him  the  vice-director  of  theological  studies, 
Augustin  Braig.  Such  an  arrangement  would  ensure 
the  most  comprehensive  application  of  our  principles 
being  made  known  to  Baron  von  Wessenberg,  who  is 
already  devoted  to  the  political  system  of  our  Court, 
and  to  whom  may  be  disclosed  without  reserve  even 
the  political  and  religious  sentiments  of  the  Imperial 
Court ;  and  the  Imperial  Directorial-Embassy  in  Frank- 
furt would  be  placed  in  a  position  entirely  in  accordance 
with  my  views — to  support  the  wislies  of  the  German 
Church,  instead  of  taking  the  initiative  in  this  matter. 


G  INTERNAL   AFFAIRS   OF   THE   EMPIRE. 

For  greater  satisfaction  I  sliould  not  only  approve 
but  should  think  it  desirable  to  send  the  above-men- 
tioned Augustin  Braig  afterwards  to  consult  with  the 
Austrian  embassy. 

The  nature  of  the  negotiations  about  to  commence 
at  Frankfurt  ensures  there  being  sufficient  time  to  carry 
out  these  measures.  But  not  till  the  Diet  is  constituted, 
which  will  certainly  be  three  or  four  weeks  after  its 
opening,  will  it  be  possible  for  our  embassy  to  broach 
the  subject  of  ecclesiastical  affairs,  and  urge  the  for- 
mation of  a  concordat  of  all  the  German  States  with  the 
Eoman  Court. 

Probably  some  of  the  greater  German  Courts,  and 
certainly  Wurtemberg,  will  attempt  some  protest. 
But  such  important  principles  are  involved  that  their 
triumph  would  be  certain  if  it  were  not  for  the  petty 
spirit  of  the  greater  German  Governments,  which  often 
conflicts  even  with  their  own  State  interests.  If,  how- 
ever, the  idea  of  a  general  concordat  should  not  be 
adopted,  an  opening  is  left  for  separate  concordats  based 
on  the  same  principles,  and  the  success  of  this  opening 
can  the  less  be  doubted  as  these  principles  are  equally 
suited  to  the  authority  and  the  financial  interests  of  the 
Princes.  It  will  not,  therefoj-e,  be  difficult  to  show, 
that  the  dissentient  Governments  will  lose,  rather  than 
gain  by  tlieir  contumacy ;  for  whereas,  separately,  they 
will  be  weak  against  the  Eoman  Curia,  by  union  among 
themselves,  and  by  union  with  the  Austrian  Church, 
they  would  gain  in  strength.  The  principles  of  that 
body  are  a  guarantee  that  the  cogency  of  such  argu- 
ments must  be  evident,  and  I  do  not  know  any  example 
as  yet  of  even  the  most  absolute  of  German  Princes,  out 
of  mere  self-conceit,  putting  himself  deterioris  conditionis 
in  a  different  position  from  the  other  German  sovereigns 


CONCORDATS   WITH  THE   HOLY   SEE.  7 

— a  case  which  would  inevitably  occur  if  tlie  King  of 
Wurtemberg  should  conclude  a  concordat  with  the 
Eoman  See  more  advantageous  to  it  than  the  concor- 
dats with  the  other  German  Courts.* 

*  The  negotiations  were  begun  in  this  sense,  hut  were  unsuccessful.  In 
the  course  of  the  years  1817  to  1830  special  concordats  were  concluded  with 
separate  States  of  the  Bund  :  thus,  in  1817  with  Bavaria  ;  in  1821  and  1827 
with  the  States  forming  the  Upper  Rhenish  Ohiu-ch  Province  ;  in  1824  with 
Hanover ;  in  1827  with  Saxony  ;  in  1830  with  Gnesen  and  Posen,  &:c. ;  at 
last,  in  1855,  after  Metternich's  retirement,  the  well-known  Concordat  of 
the  Apostolic  See  with  Austria  was  concluded.  The  aged  Chancellor 
welcomed  the  appearance  of  this  document  with  the  greatest  satisfaction, 
and  took  pen  in  hand  to  narrate  the  history  of  the  delay  (of  half  a  century) 
between  his  first  idea  of  it  in  1816  and  its  realisation  in  1855.  This  paper, 
written  with  his  own  hand  in  August  1855,  is  given  here  to  make  the  matter 
more  plain.     It  is  as  follows  : — 

'  The  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  the  birthday  of  the  Emperor  Francis 
Joseph  (Aug.  18,  1855)  has  been  celebrated  in  a  manner  as  excellent  as 
significant,  by  the  signature  of  the  Concordat  with  the  Roman  Chair. 

'  No  one  can  be  better  informed  than  I  of  the  circumstances  which 
hindered  the  good  work  of  withdrawing  from  the  encroachments  on  the 
Church  (called  reforms)  of  which  the  Emperor  Joseph  II.  had  been  guilty. 

'Put  together  concisely  and  faithfully  represented,  the  historical  facts 
are  as  follows  : — 

'  After  the  general  peace  was  concluded  in  1814-1815,  I  directed  my 
attention  to  the  painful  consequences  of  Joseph's  legislation  in  ecclesiastical 
aifairs.  While  these  weighed  on  the  whole  empire,  their  evil  influence  was 
particularly  felt  in  Lombardy  and  Venetia,  in  the  German  States  of  the  Bund, 
and  in  Hungary. 

'  The  personal  feelings  of  the  Emperor  Francis  were,  for  political  and 
religious  reasons,  inclined  to  the  removal  of  certain  conditions  existing  since 
the  reign  of  Joseph  II.  It  was  otherwise  with  the  officials;  indeed,  even 
among  the  clergy  tlie  Febronian  doctrines  had,  with  exceptions,  taken  deep 
root.  In  the  upper  departments  of  the  Government  I  was  alone  on  the  side 
of  truth  in  this  important  question.  I  did  not  allow  myself  to  be  discouraged 
by  this  position,  and  continued  the  solution  of  the  problem  on  the  principles 
I  had  laid  down  in  my  conferences  with  Cardinal  Consalvi.  To  assist  me  in 
the  great  undertaking  I  had  selected  Propst  von  Justel,  at  that  time  Ecclesi- 
astical Adviser  to  the  State  Council.  In  the  year  1817  the  marriage  of  the 
Archduchess  Leopoldiue  with  the  heir  to  the  Portuguese  throne  gave  me  an 
opportunity  to  continue  the  secret  negotiations  which  I  had  begun  with  the 
Roman  Chair.  I  caiLsed  Propst  von  Justel  to  be  sent  to  Rome,  and  intended, 
if  the  prospect  had  been  favourable  of  an  agreement  between  the  two  Govern- 
ments, to  have  gone  thither  myself,  after  the  maldng  over  the  Archduchess 
at  Leghorn.  This  plan  was  not  carried  out,  because  I  saw  that  the  affair 
was  not  yet  ripe  for  conclusion. 


8  INTERNAL  AFFAIRS   OF   THE   EIMTIRE. 

'  In  the  year  1819  the  Emperor  went  to  Italy,  and  in  the  personal  inter- 
course of  his  Majesty  with  Pope  Pius  VII.,  they  came  to  an  agreement, 
which  was,  however,  frustrated  by  the  difRcidties  which  the  Emperor  found 
placed  in  the  way  by  the  authorities  on  his  return  to  Vienna. 

'  Delays  of  every  kind  took  place.  One  arose  from  the  sti'ong  feeling  of 
Laio  (the  inviolability  of  the  written  law)  which  in  the  Emperor's  mind 
amounted  to  scrupulosity.  Another  cause  was  the  resistance  of  the  lay  and 
clerical  canonists  devoted  to  Febrionianism,  against  every  agreement  with 
the  Roman  Chair.  The  revolutionary  outbreaks  which,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  third  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century,  disturbed  the  peace  of  Europe, 
and  particularly  of  Italy,  forced  the  questions  between  the  Empire  and  Rome 
into  the  background  :  mutual  concessions  took  place  between  the  highest 
powers,  when,  I  am  convinced,  an  end  ought  to  have  been  put  to  the  founda- 
tion of  the  evil.  But  I  stood  alone  at  the  centre  of  aifairs,  and  therefore,  in 
spite  of  my  eiforts,  there  remained  nothing  but  empty  negotiations. 

*  When,  in  the  year  1835,  the  Emperor  Francis,  who  morally  quite  agreed 
with  me,  was  near  his  death,  he  ordered,  in  a  testamentary  document,  that 
the  controversy  between  Church  and  State  should  be  terminated  as  quickly 
as  possible,  and  appointed  me  and  the  Bishop  of  St.  Polten  (Wagner) 
executors  of  his  will.  The  pressure  which  always  follows  a  change  of  ntlers 
prevented  the  immediate  termination  of  the  important  task  so  dear  to  my 
heart ;  soon  afterwards  the  Bishop  whom  the  Emperor  had  appointed  died. 
I  chose  Abbot  Rauscher  to  succeed  him,  and  we  took  up  our  position  against 
the  officials,  but  did  not  succeed  in  bringing  the  affair  to  that  issue  for  which, 
at  last  a  path  was  made  by  the  Revolutions  of  1848. 

*  The  goal  is  reached !  In  this  faithful  narrative  of  events  the  key  is 
given  to  the  delay  caused  by  erroneous  ideas,  false  doctrines,  and  bureau- 
cratic influences — hindrances  to  the  victory  of  truth,  and  even  of  common 
sense — to  the  best  intentions  of  two  Emperors  and  to  my  eflbrts.' 


9 


THE  TREATY  OF  MUNICH,  CONCERNING  THE 
CESSION  OF  DETACHED  PORTIONS  OF  THE 
COUNTRY  OF  BAVARIA    TO  AUSTRIA. 

Metternich  to  Von  Wacquant,  Austrian  Plenipotentiary  at 
Munich,  Milan,  February  9,  1816. 

209.  The  time  of  the  Pnnce  Eoyal  (at  ]\iilan)  was 
passed  as  much  in  direct  pourparlers  between  him  and 
the  Emperor  as  in  my  negotiations  with  the  Prince 
Eoyal  and  the  Count  de  Eechberg.  If  it  is  difficult  to 
describe  to  you  the  persistence  with  which  the  former 
pursued  his  favourite  idea — that  of  the  acquisition  of  the 
greater  part  of  the  Palatinate — and  the  tedious  conduct 
of  the  latter,  it  is  not  so  with  regard  to  the  result  of 
the  negotiation.  .  .  .  The  negotiation  turned  on  three 
points  : — 

1st.  On  the  claim  of  Bavaria  to  an  augmentation  of 
her  share,  to  make  up  for  the  loss  which  she  asserts  that 
she  has  sustained  through  our  exchanges.. 

2nd.  On  her  claim  to  contiguity  of  territory. 

3rd.  On  her  desire  to  see  the  negotiations  of  Munich, 
joined  with  those  which  we  are  reserving  for  Frankfurt. 

The  Prince  Eoyal,  and  especially  M.  de  Eechberg, 
used  every  effort  to  sustain  the  first  of  these  points.  It 
had  been  explained  most  positively  to  him  that  nothing 
could  alter  his  Majesty's  conviction  of  the  more  than 
sufficient  importance  of  the  indemnity  offered  to  Bavaria, 
and  accepted  by  her,  and  that  consequently  we  could 


10  INTERNAL   AFFAIRS   OF   THE   EMPIRE. 

never  admit  or  sustain  a  claim  founded  on  a  contrary 
principle. 

In  the  first  interview  of  the  Emperor  with  the  Prince 
Eoyal,  the  latter  maintained  with  much  heat  a  project 
for  the  acquisition  of  a  line  of  communication  which 
had  been  fully  explained  to  us.  The  Emperor  left  no 
doubt  on  the  Prince  Eoyal's  mind  of  his  determination 
in  the  present  negotiation  not  to  maintain  this  project, 
which  would  certainly  have  met  with  insurmountable 
obstacles  on  the  part  of  the  Court  of  Baden.  His  Im- 
perial Majesty  merely  promised  his  good  offices  for  the 
cession  of  the  circle  of  Main-and-Tauber.  This  proposal 
has  been  definitely  accepted  by  the  Prince  Eoyal  and  by 
M.  de  Eechberg. 

We  met  with  very  strong  opposition  on  the  part 
of  the  Bavarian  negotiators,  with  the  object  of  uniting 
the  negotiation  of  Munich  to  that  of  Frankfurt,  or,  what 
was  equivalent,  of  subordinating  our  direct  negotiation 
to  the  one  reserved  for  the  latter  city,  and  thus  ex- 
posing it  to  new  complications.  The  very  decided 
declaration  of  the  Emperor's  determination  not  to  lend 
himself  to  an  arrangement  which,  if  carried  out,  would 
prolong  all  the  annoyances  we  have  experienced  in 
our  negotiations  with  Bavaria  for  more  than  two  years, 
has  caused  the  bringing  forward  of  a  new  Bavarian 
proposition.  The  Prince  Eoyal  asked,  while  consenting 
to  the  complete  separation  of  the  two  negotiations,  that 
the  term  of  the  surrender  of  Innviertel  should  be  de- 
layed until  the  end  of  the  negotiation  of  Frankfurt, 
and  his  Imperial  Majesty  having  declined  this  demand, 
the  Count  de  Eechberg  reduced  it  the  next  day  to 
some  districts  of  Innviertel,  which  should  remain  under 
the  same  clause,  and  as  a  pledge,  in  the  hands  of 
Bavaria. 


TEEATY   OF  MUNICH  AND   CESSION   OF  TERRITORY.      11 

The  Emperor,  seeing  in  the  adoption  of  such  a  mea- 
sure the  very  compromises  he  has  decided  to  avoid,  all 
the  more  that  the  minds  of  our  people,  now  united  to 
the  Kingdom  of  Bavaria,  and  properly  belonging  to 
it,  are  already  too  much  excited  ;  and  desiring,  on  the 
other  hand,  to  prove  to  the  King  of  Bavaria  that 
he  does  not  wish  to  prevent  the  conclusion  of  an  im- 
portant affair  for  considerations  connected  with  mere 
financial  details,  will  endeavour  to  find  a  means  of 
attaining  both  these  ends.  The  simplest  of  all  has  pre- 
sented itself  to  the  mind  of  his  Imperial  Majesty.  M. 
de  Eechberg  has  sent  to  me  a  statistical  and  financial 
valuation  of  the  circle  of  Main-and-Tauber.  His  Majesty 
has  decided  to,  offer  to  the  Prince  Eoyal  himself  to 
bear  the  loss  sustained  by  Bavaria  from  the  revenue 
of  this  circle,  counting  from  the  day  of  the  surrender 
of  the  provinces  which  are  to  be  restored  to  us,  to  the 
day  when  Bavaria  enters  into  possession  of  the  indem- 
nity claimed  by  her  as  compensation  for  her  renuncia- 
tion of  the  contiguity  of  her  territories  ancient  and 
modern.  .  .  . 

The  Count  de  Eechberg  having  spoken  to  me  of  the 
King's  desire  to  possess  the  territory  which  crosses  a 
part  of  the  road  from  Eeichenhall  to  Berchtesgaden, 
which  has  always  been  a  part  of  Salzburg,  the  Emperor 
sees  no  difiiculty  in  granting  this  request.  He  claims, 
on  his  side,  a  free  passage  for  his  troops  on  the  road 
from  Salzburg  to  Lofer  by  Eeichenhall.  ... 

...  It  only  remains  for  me  to  tell  you.  Sir,  of  the 
King's  idea  of  the  acquisition  of  the  Palatinate.  The 
Prince  Eoyal,  seeing  the  impossibility  of  engaging  us 
to  support  his  wishes  for  the  acquisition  of  the  Pala- 
tinate, and  still  less  of  imposing  them  on  the  Grand 
Duke  of  Baden,  has  ended  by  requesting  to  be  at  least 


12  INTERNAL  AFFAIRS   OF   THE   EMPIRE. 

assured  of  the  intentions  of  our  august  master  the  Em- 
peror  in  favour  of  an  arrangement  which  Bavaria  could 
be  induced  in  time  to  propose  to  the  Court  of  Baden — 
an  arrangement  vrhich  should  be  made  amicably  and 
according  to  the  principles  of  a  just  compensation.  His 
Majesty  did  not  hesitate  to  assure  the  Prince  Eoyal  that 
such  an  arrangement  would  meet  with  no  difBcultv  on 
his  part ;  and  that,  on  the  contrary,  he  will  be  dehghted 
to  contribute,  by  an  amicable  intervention,  to  the  recon- 
ciliation of  the  Kinof's  ^vishes  with  the  interests  of  the 
Court  of  Baden. 

You  will  find  enclosed  full  powers  for  concluding 
and  signing  the  treaty  which  you  are  to  negotiate. 

Metternich  to  Wacquant^  Verona^  April  8,  1816. 

210.  The  present  courier  will  give  you  the  means 
of  concludincr  and  sisnincr  the  final  arrangement  Avith 
Bavaria,  and  it  will  not  be  difficult  for  you  to  prove  to 
the  Ejus:  and  his  minister  that  our  auorust  master  the 
Emperor  to  the  unexampled  proofs  of  patience  which 
he  has  criven  in  the  course  of  the  negotiation  has  added 
the  greatest  condescension  to  the  often  um'easonable 
claims  of  the  opposite  party.  .  .  . 

The  date  of  May  1  is  fixed  so  rigorously  that  our 
generals  have  orders  not  to  allow  themselves  to  be 
stopped  in  the  occupation  of  the  places  ceded  to  us  by 
Bavaria  by  any  protestation  or  opposition ;  therefore 
it  will  be  necessary  for  your  Excellency  to  insist  in  tlie 
strongest  manner  on  this  surrender,  and,  if  need  be.  that 
you  should  throw  on  Count  de  Montgelas  himself  all  the 
responsibihty  of  any  comphcations  which  may  arise 
from  defective  instructions  or  from  a  want  of  good  faith 
on  the  part  of  Bavaria.    It  will  be  easy  for  you  to  prove 


TREATY   OF   MUNICH.  13 

that  the  Emperor,  determined  as  he  is  to  admit  of  no 
delay  or  evasions  in  the  recovery  of  his  provinces,  feels 
it  impossible  to  modify  any  orders  whatever  given  to 
his  civil  and  mihtary  authorities,  considering  how  dis- 
tant the  places  to  be  exchanged  are,  both  from  each 
other  and  from  the  present  abode  of  his  Imperial  Majesty. 
I  agree  with  you  as  to  the  possibihty  of  the  signa- 
ture taking  place  on  the  13th  or  14th  at  latest.* 

*  The  above-mentioned  treaty,  dated  April  14,  was  published  in  the 
usual  way.  In  consequence  of  this,  the  places  which  had  been  abstracted  in 
1809  again  came  into  the  possession  of  Austria, — Ed. 


14 


COUI^T  METTERNICKS  LEAVE  OF  ABSENCE. 

211.  Metternich  to  the  Emperor  Francis  (Report),  April  8,  1816 ;  with 
the  Royal  Note  attached,  Padua,  April  9,  1816. 

211.  I  need  not  tell  your  Majesty  liow  grieved  I 
am  that  in  a  moment  like  the  present  I  am  unable  to 
be  of  use  to  your  Majesty.  My  feelings  are  so  well 
known  to  your  Majesty  that  they  need  no  asseveration 
to  confirm  them.  I  send  your  Majesty  through  Count 
Mercy  my  first  plan  of  the  journey.  I  would  have  gone 
to  Vicenza  instead  of  Padua,  but  Scarpa  warned  me 
that  the  dampness  of  that  town  made  it  a  very  in- 
jurious residence  in  cases  of  rheumatic  affections.  This 
apphes  also  to  Stra  and  Venice.  In  any  case,  however, 
your  Majesty  may  depend  upon  my  earnest  attention 
to  the  state  of  affairs  in  Treviso  ...  * 

Metteenich. 


I  am  convinced  of  your  attachment  to  my  person, 
and  very  sorry  that  you  cannot  be  with  me,  but  I  wish 
you  to  stay  as  long  as  you  can,  and  take  care  of  your- 
self; and  I  shall  only  be  glad  to  see  you  return  when 
you  can  do  so  without  injury  to  your  health. 

Francis. 

*  A  letter  from  Metternich  to  his  mother  gives  the  real  reason  of  this 
short  ahseiice.     It  is  written  from  Verona,  dated  April  13,  1816,  and  says: 

'  ]\Iy  eye  is  better ;  it  has  never  been  alarming,  but   inconvenient  and 

tedious,  like  all  aifections  of  the  eye.  The  cure  which  I  have  begun,  and 
still  continue,  is  doing  me  much  good,  in  every  respect.  I  have  had  three 
years  of  very  great  labour,  and  I  prefer  to  take  measures  now,  rather  than 
wait  for  what  might  prove  a  very  serious  malady.  The  Emperor  is  exceed- 
ingly kind,  and  daily  gives  me  proofs  of  confidence  and  attachment  of  which 
he  perhaps  hardly  knew  himself  capable.  I  am  more  devoted  than  anyone 
else  to  him,  and  certainly  in  a  more  disinterested  way  than  most  of  his 
servants.'—  Ed. 


15 


REGULATION  OF  MONET. 

212.  A  Memorandum  by  Metternicla,*  Vienna,  October  12,  1816. 

213.  A  summary  view  of  the  result  of  the  gradual  withdrawal  of  Paper 
Money,     Autograph  note  by  Metternich. 

212.  If  the  present  conference  is  to  have  any  use- 
ful end,  it  seems  to  me  quite  necessary  to  come  to  some 
decision  as  to  general  principles,  or  let  it  be  clearly  and 
distinctly  explained  why  there  can  be  no  such  agree- 
ment. In  a  matter  like  this,  questions  and  answers, 
objections  and  counter-objections,  may  be  repeated  in 
endless  multiplication,  unless  it  is  decided  beforehand 
what  we  want  to  ask  for,  and  in  what  order  the  ques- 
tions shall  be  put. 

The  problem  is,  to  introduce  a  fixed  and  regular 
monetary  system  to  take  the  place  of  the  present  one, 
which  is  admitted  to  be  in  every  respect  defective,  and 
to  come  to  a  decision  upon  the  now  discredited  paper 
money  in  circulation,  which  (at  least  in  its  present 
quantity  and  quality)  is  the  occasion  of  all  these  faults 
and  incongruities. 

Every  possible  measure  concerning  this  paper- 
money  runs  on  the  lines  of  one  of  the  following  three 
systems  : — 

1.  The  retention  of  paper  in  a  reduced  nominal 
value.     System  of  devaluation. 

2.  The  abolition  of  paper  money  by  law — witli  or 

*  Metternich  was  appointed,  in  1816,  President  of  the  conference  sum- 
moned to  remove  the  tnancial  pressure  and  restore  the  public  credit. — Ed. 


16  INTERNAL   AFFAIRS   OF   THE   EMPIRE. 

without  equivalent.     System  of  legal  or  forcible  with- 
drawal. 

8.  The  abolition  of  paper  money  by  a  voluntary 
and  therefore  a  gradual  operation.  System  of  gradual 
withdrawal. 

The  system  of  devaluation  has  the  advantage  of 
being  simple  in  execution  and  rapid  in  its  effects,  and 
the  Government  remains  in  possession  of  its  cash. 
There  are,  however,  many  objections  to  the  adoption 
of  this  system,  one  of  the  greatest  of  which  is  that  it  is 
the  second  attempt  of  the  kind,  and  would  be  as  strongly 
opposed  by  public  opinion  as  the  finance  operation  of 
1811,  at  a  time  of  the  greatest  pressure,  although  the 
present  attempt  does  not  fall  in  a  time  of  such  pressure. 

The  system  of  enforced  withdrawal  from  circulation 
is  not  capable  of  any  great  modification.  A  difference 
between  a  sudden  and  a  periodical  withdrawal  of  the 
paper  money  cannot,  according  to  my  conviction,  exist ; 
for  any  calling  in  of  money  by  law,  however  it  may  be 
announced  or  declared,  concerns  the  whole  amount. 
Therefore,  the  only  question  here  is,  whether  the  pos- 
sessors of  the  paper  are  or  are  not  indemnified.  No 
voice  has  been  heard  at  present,  among  us  at  least,  in 
favour  of  the  abohtion  of  paper  money  without  an 
equivalent.  Those  who  desire  its  abolition  by  a  legal 
arrangement  are  ready  to  grant  an  indemnification  to 
the  holders  of  it,  and  since  such  compensation  cannot 
be  given  in  ready  money,  they  are  willing  to  give  them 
interest-bearing  national  bonds.  This  second  system 
may  therefore  be  more  briefly  and  more  pertinently 
called  the  system  of  consolidation  by  law — that  is,  en- 
forced consolidation. 

The  system  of  gradual  withdrawal  admits,  indeed, 
of  a  far  greater  variety  of  combinations  and  operations. 


REGULATION   OF   MONEY.  1 


>T 


But  all  are  agreed  that  even  with  this  S3'stem,  as  things 
are  at  present,  the  sum  total,  or  at  any  rate  the  greater 
part,  of  the  paper  money  must  be  withdrawn  by  national 
bonds  that  pay  interest.  Only  these  bonds  should  not 
be  introduced  compulsorily,  like  a  system  of  consolida- 
tion by  law,  but  by  free  operations  as  a  compensation 
for  the  paper  money.  The  system  of  gradual  with- 
drawal, with  the  reservation  of  all  the  remedial  mea- 
sures applicable  to  it  may  therefore  be  called,  in  contra- 
distinction to  the  others,  the  system  of  free  consoli- 
dation. 

Opinions  are  at  present  divided  amongst  us  as  to 
these  two  systems. 

Both  parties  agree  in  the  main  point  that  the  State 
must  annually  devote  a  considerable  sum  to  pay  the  in- 
terest of  the  bonds  replacing  the  paper  money.  If  we 
estimate  the  paper  money  in  circulation  only  at  six 
hundred  millions,  this  sum  would  amount  with  2,V 
per  cent,  to  fifteen  millions,  with  2  per  cent,  to  twelve 
millions. 

The  question  therefore  which  must  take  precedence 
of  all  others  is  this.  Can  the  State,  besides  the  yearly 
interest  due  on  the  present  interest  -  bearing  debt, 
afford  annually  twelve  to  fifteen  millions  for  interest 
on  the  new  bonds  ? 

This  question  is  common  to  both  systems.  If  it  has 
to  be  answered  in  the  negative,  neither  of  the  two 
systems  can  exist  (least  of  all  that  of  forced  consoHda- 
tion,  which  at  once  affects  tlie  whole  mass  of  paper- 
money  in  circulation  equally).  If  it  be  affirmed,  tins 
leads  to  the  further  inquiry  whether  it  be  better  to  ex- 
pend those  twelve  or  fifteen  millions  of  yearly  interest 
once  and  for  all  on  the  consolidation  of  the  paper  money, 
or  to  leave  that  sum  to  be  disposed  of  by  the  Finance 

VOL.  III.  C 


18        '        INTERNAL   AFFAIRS   OF   THE   EMPIRE. 

Minister  as   a  maximum  for  the  introduction  and  per 
formance  of  free  operations  of  consolidation. 

Second  chief  question  : — Which  of  the  two  systems 
of  consohdation  is  the  better  and  the  more  feasible  ? 

1.  Those  wlio  maintain  the  system  of  consolidation 
by  law  must,  I  am  convinced,  show — 

(a)  That  the  compensation  assigned  by  law  to  the 
possessors  of  ^^aper  money  will  be  real  and  not  delu- 
sive :  in  other  words,  that  the  value  (namely,  the  market- 
price)  of  the  bonds  in  exchange  for  the  paper  money, 
if  not  equal  should  be  as  nearly  as  possible  equal  to  the 
present  real  worth  of  this  paper  money,  and  should  not 
fall  to  ^,  ^,  or  even  perhaps  -^j^,  ^V  of  the  nominal  value 
of  the  paper  money. 

{b)  That,  after  an  entire  and  sudden  withdrawal  of 
paper  money,  other  circulating  media  will  be  at  once 
or  in  a  short  time  introduced,  and  that,  in  the  absence 
of  this,  the  most  ruinous  stacfnation  in  the  circulation 
would  not  be  introduced  into  all  trades  cfi'eat  and  small, 
a  result  which  would  end  in  the  general  ruin  of  the 
country. 

(c)  That  after  so  rapid  and  extensive  a  revolution 
the  Government  will  be  strong  enough  to  raise  (if  even 
by  violent  means)  the  money  it  requires  for  urgent 
necessities,  or  rich  enough  to  advance  the  money  for  an 
indefinite  time. 

2.  Can  the  system  of  free  consolidation  with  the 
same  ^means  as  tlie  S3^stem  of  enforced  consolidation 
(twelve  to  fifteen  millions  of  annual  interest)  be  applied 
to  compass  the  same  ends  ? 

It  is  incumbent  on  tlie  Finance  Minister  to  prove — 
(a)  Tliat   the  gradual  withdrawal  of  paper  money 

can   be  effected    by  the  measures  proposed  or   to  be 

proposed  by  him. 


EEGULATION   OF   MONEY.  19 

(b)  That  the  operation  will  be  uninterrupted  and 
will  not  be  prolonged  beyond  the  shortest  term  pos- 
sible. 

(c)  That,  in  case  one  of  his  proposed  measures 
should  fail  by  unforeseen  hindrances,  it  would  not  be 
impossible  to  him  to  replace  it  quickly  by  some  other 
and  more  effective  one. 

When  these  points  are  established,  the  two  follow- 
ing, requiring  the  greatest  attention,  must  be  men- 
tioned. 

A.  Without  at  the  present  moment  deciding  on 
either  of  the  two  systems  of  consolidation,  I  cannot  con- 
ceal my  conviction  that,  in  setting  forth  the  reasons  for 
the  forced  system  of  consolidation,  far  more  care  and 
even  severity  must  be  used  than  in  judging  of  the  single 
measures  which  might  be  proposed  for  the  execution 
of  a  free  system  of  consolidation,  for  the  danger  is  no 
doubt  greater  with  the  former  than  with  the  latter. 
Here  (2),  at  the  worst,  it  is  but  the  further  continu- 
ance of  the  present  burdensome  condition:  there  (1), 
the  possible  ruin  of  the  country  is  at  stake ;  here  (2), 
a  principle  already  laid  down  is  pursued  :  there  (1),  a 
system  actually  in  force  is  abolished  and  replaced  l)y 
one  perfectly  new.  With  a  free  consolidation,  the 
Government  remains  from  beginning  to  end  master  of 
its  measures :  in  the  consolidation  by  law,  from  the 
moment  the  law  is  proclaimed,  every  retrogression  and 
even  every  essential  modification  is  barred. 

B.  I  should  consider  it  an  evil,  the  consequences 
of  which  would  be  incalculable,  if  the  investigation 
of  definite  questions  should  check  the  Government  in 
its  progress  along  its  regular  path  ;  or  if  it  sliould 
take  measures  not  quite  consistent  with  an  impartial 
and   prudent  deliberation,   or   with   the    future    appU- 

c  2 


20  INTERNAL   AFFAIRS   OF   THE   EMPIRE. 

cation    of  the    principles   which    must   be   established 
by  it.* 

Summary  of  the  Results  of  the  gradual  Abolition  of 
the  Paper  Money. 

I.     Main  Pkoposition. 

213.    1.  The  paper  in  circulation  shall  be  abohshecl. 

2.  This  abolition  shall  not  take  place  without  a  fair 
indemnification  of  its  holders. 

3.  The  rate  of  interest  for  the  conversion  of 
paper  money  into  national  interest-bearing  bonds  is 
2  J  per  cent. 

4.  The  maximum  of  the  charge  on  the  State,  arising 
from  this  conversion,  is  fifteen  millions  annual  interest. 

5.  The  national  debt,  hitherto  paying  an  interest  of 
about  15,000,000  W.  W.  must,  at  every  change  from 
the  circulation  of  paper  to  that  of  a  metallic  currency, 
sooner  or  later  be  charcred  with  15,000,000  in  C.  M. 


"O 


n.  Present  State  of  Affairs. 

1.  The  paper  money  in  circulation  amounts,  the 
reserves  of  cash  being  deducted,  to  600,000,000. 

2.  Of  this  about  40,000,000  is  already  abohshed 
in  virtue  of  the  patents  of  June  1,  and  by  the  sale 
of  2,500  bank  stock  ;  the  interest  on  the  40,000,000 
amounts  to  about  400,000  florins  C.  M. 

3.  In  the  treasury  are  the  war  contributions  and 
all  other  revenues,  with  the  deduction  of  10,000,000 
C.  M.,  employed  in  the  operation  in  consequence  of  the 
patent  of  June  1. 

*  The  patent  of  October  29,  1816,  by  whicb  a  free  loan  was  opened  for 
the  withdrawal  of  paper  money  was  the  result  of  the  conference  to  which 
the  above  memoir  served  as  guide. — Ed. 


EEGULATION   OF   MONEY.  21 

III.  Proposed  Operation. 

A  loan  reckoned  for  the  conversion  of  120,000,000 
to  150,000,000  withdraws  in  t]ie  first  case  from  circu- 
lation the  sum  of  120,000,000  W.  W.,  and  costs  the 
State  for  fresh  interest  3,000,000  C.  M. 

IV.  Further  Course  of  the  Operation. 

I     purposely    separate    from    the    sum  w.  w. 

total  of 600,000,000 

A  sum  of 200,000,000 

Which  I  consider  the  minimum  of  paper 

that  (in  an  altered  form)  must  be  kept 

in  circulation,  and  for  the  abolition  of 

which,  if  it  ever  takes  place,  quite  dif- 
ferent means  must  be  employed.     My 

examination,  therefore,  readies  only  the 

sum  of 400,000,000 

Of  these — 

1.  Already  abohshed      ....       40,000,000 

2.  Will  be  abolished  by  the  minimum  of 

the  revenue  from  the  next  loan   .  .     120,000,000 

3.  I  think  it  quite  certain  that  in  one 
way  or  other,  beside  the  2,500  already 
abolished  in  bank  stock,  20,000  more 
(not  altogether  half  the  number  pre- 
scribed in  the  patents)  will  have  to  be 
abohshed,  by  which  will  be  called  in 

the  further  sum  of      ...  .       40,000,000 


200,000,000 


Therefore,  from  the  above  400,000,000  W.  W.  must  still 
be  withdrawn,  by  gradual  free  operations,  200,000,000 
W.  W. 


22  INTERNAL   AFFAIRS   OF   THE   EMPIRE. 

As  a  beginning  of  these  operations  the  State  may 
apply— 

1.  Interest  at  2^  per  cent.  =  5,000,000. 

2.  Bonuses  (by  which  the  payment  of  higher 
interests  than  2.^  per  cent,  would  be  avoided)  from  the 
store  of  ready  cash,  a  sum  of  about  10,000,000. 

V.  Eesult  of  the  Whole  Operation,  w.  w. 

1.  Abolished  akeady      ....       40,000,000 

2.  Will  be  abohshed  :— 

{a)  By  the  loan  now  proposed  .  .  120,000,000 
{b)  By  bank  stock  ....  40,000,000 
{c)  By  further  operations  by  credit      .     200,000,000 

400,000,000 

3.  One   particular    withdrawal    without 

increase  of  the  State's  load  of  interest  .     200,000,000 

600,000,000 


In  this  way  the  interest  to  be  paid  by  the  State 
would  be —  w.  w. 

1.  For  the  sum  already  withdrawn      .         .  400,000 

2.  For  the  proposed  loan   ....  3,000,000 

3.  For  the  20,000  in  bank  stock          .         .  1,000,000 

4.  For  further  operations  ....  5,000,000 

9,400,000 

General  Eemarks  on  the  Preceding  Eesult. 

1.  By  this  course  the  State  remains  in  possession  of 
all  its  stores  of  ready  cash,  with  the  exception  of — 

{a)  The  10,000,000  already  made  use  of  under 
the  patents  of  June  1,  by  which,  however,  the  amount 


REGULATION   OF   MONEY.  23 


of  paper  money  in  circulation  lias  been  reduced  to 
40,000,000. 

(6)  The  10,000,000  to  be  used  in  case  of  necessity, 
to  assist  in  the  further  credit  operations. 

2.  By  the  present  conversion  of  paper  money  the 
State  has  to  bear,  not  only  all  the  interest  for  the 
national  debt  (the  paper  money)  at  present  paying  no 
interest,  but  also  tlie  interest  of  the  njjtional  debt  hitherto 
paying  interest  in  W.  W.,  together  with  15,000,000 
C.  M.  ;  an  annual  interest,  therefore,  of  30,000,000, 
immediate  and  without  deduction.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  interest  of  the  new  debt,  when  the  operation  is 
concluded,  will  not  be  more  than  9,400,000  W.  W., 
so  that  from  the  maximum,  15,000,000  W.  W.,  will  be 
saved  5,600,000  W.  W.,  and,  with  regard  to  the  present 
debt,  the  interest  has  not  to  be  paid  in  C.  M.  till  the 
whole  operation  is  finished,  so  that  the  State  gains  for 
one  or  two  years  more  the  considerable  difference 
between  the  amount  of  interest  in  W.  W.  and  the 
same  in  C.  M. 


24 


1817. 

JOURNEY  TO  LEGHORN  IN  THE  SUITE  OF  THE 
ARCHDUCHESS  LEOPOLDINE,  THE  NEWLY- 
MARRIED   CROWN  PRINCESS  OF  PORTUGAL. 

Extracts  from  Metternich's   private    Letters   from   June    10   to 
July  26,  1817. 

214.  Padua  and  Venice.  HIS.  From  Covipliajo — wretched  accommodation 
— Cattajo — concert  at  the  house  of  the  Cardinal  Legate — Abb^  Mezzo- 
fanti.  21C.  Impression  made  by  Florence — the  Pitti  Palace — the  gallery. 
217.  Pisa — Campo  Santo^the  episode  of  Pernambuco.  218.  The  Cata- 
lani.  219.  The  Pope's  illness  —  Fiesole — the  Florentine  dialect  —  the 
churches  of  Sta.  Annuuziataand  Sta.  Croce^ — Alfieri's monument  by  Canuva 
— picture  of  the  Last  Judi^ment,  by  Tironzino.  220.  The  order  of  Eliza- 
beth sent  for  Princess  Metternich — Dr.  Jaeger  makes  a  sensation  in 
Florence.  221.  The  portrait  medallion  presented  for  signing  the  marriage 
treaty — the  expected  arrival  of  the  fleet.  222.  The  ladies  in  attendance 
on  the  Archduchess.  223.  Plan  of  the  journey.  224.  To  Leghorn — the 
island  of  Elba — the  American  admiral's  ship — arrival  at  Lucca — return  to 
Florence.  225.  Preparations  for  giving  over  tlie  Archduchess — anecdote 
of  Zichy.     227.  Arrival  of  the  fleet — Metternich's  journey  to  Lucca. 

Metternich  to  his  Wife,  Padua,  June  10,  1817. 

214.  I  arrived  here,  as  I  intended,  in  the  evening 
of  the  day  before  yesterday. 

I  have  always  fancied,  and  I  am  quite  sure  now,  that 
summer  is  the  proper  season  for  Upper  Italy.  Tliere 
is  as  little  resemblance  between  the  country,  the  towns, 
everything,  in  fact,  in  winter  and  summer,  as  between 
a  garden  in  November,  during  the  fogs  and  mud  of  that 
season,  and  that  same  garden  in  the  month  of  Jime. 
No  one  can  form  any  idea  of  the  beauty  of  the  country  ; 


VENICE.  25 

all  the  plantations,  all  the  trees,  which  with  us  suffer 
from  cold,  wind,  and  dust,  are  in  full  vegetation  ;  all  the 
fields  covered  with  flowers,  all  those  melancholy  little 
gardens  of  the  Brenta  full  of  roses  and  jasmines  and 
orange  trees  in  flower ;  all  those  houses,  which  then 
looked  so  dilapidated,  open  and  forming  charming  dwel- 
lings :  in  one  word,  everything  is  now  beautiful.  Venice 
in  June  and  Venice  in  December  are  two  different  cities  ; 
the  heat  there  is  moderated  by  the  neighbourhood  of 
the  sea  ;  every  evening  a  breeze  springs  up  which  is 
refreshing  but  not  cold  ;  in  the  daytime  it  is  as  warm 
as  with  us  in  those  beautiful  summer  days  when  there 
is  no  appearance  of  a  storm.  The  Piazza  in  front  of 
St.  Mark's  is  filled  with  large  tents ;  the  people  are 
in  the  streets  till  daybreak  ;  the  cafes  close  at  five  in 
the  morning  ;  the  Giudecca  and  the  Grand  Canal  are 
covered  with  gondolas.  I  walked  about  Venice  yester- 
day as  if  it  were  a  city  of  the  '  thousand  and  one 
nights.'  The  women  have  no  longer  red  hands;  blue 
noses  have  disappeared,  and  the  only  ugly  things  I  have 
seen  are  those  horrible  old  witches  one  meets  every- 
where, their  grey  hair  streaming  in  the  wind,  and  all 
having  bouquets  of  roses,  or  perhaps  one  great  rose  fas- 
tened to  their  horrid  old  wigs.  I  cannot  help  sending 
you  a  sketch  which  is  very  much  like  one  of  these 
nymphs  of  the  lagunes,  who  was  hterally  coijfee  as  you 
see. 

216.  Covigliajo,  June  12. — I  write  to  you,  my  dear, 
from  our  last  resting-place  before  Florence.  This  place 
reminds  me  of  the  charms  of  our  head-quarters  in  the 
Vosges :  there  is  here  only  one  house,  and  that  a  very 
bad  one  ;  the  Archduchess  has  one  room ;  I  sliare  one 
with  Floret ;  Madame  de  Khuenburg  has  a  closet  near 
her  mistress,  without  doors  or  windows  ;    the  rest  of 


26      EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

the  suite  sleep  in  the  carriages.  I  do  not  know  who 
chose  the  place,  but  certainly  they  could  not  have 
chosen  a  worse.  We  are  in  the  midst  of  the  Apennines, 
and  no  one  would  suspect  we  were  in  la  belle  Italie  if  it 
were  not  for  the  number  of  chesnut  woods. 

Yesterday  morning  we  left  Padua  and  slept  at  Fer- 
rara,  where  we  were  received  by  three  cardinals.  The 
road  from  Padua  as  far  as  Eovigo  is  superb ;  we 
stopped  on  the  way  to  see  a  beautiful  castle  (Cattajo) 
belonging  to  the  Duke  of  Modena.  A  wealthy  gentle- 
man named  Obizzo  took  it  into  his  head  to  bequeath 
it  to  the  Duke,  to  show  his  claim  to  belong  to  the  House 
ofEste.  The  place  is  curious  in  itself,  and  for  the 
beautiful  and  numerous  collections  of  every  kind 
gathered  together  by  its  last  possessor.  The  road  from 
Eovig-o  to  Lasroscuro,  where  the  Po  is  crossed,  is  de- 
testable ;  tlie  only  clioice  is  between  being  drowned  in 
the  Po  or  smothered  by  the  dust  of  a  narrow  cause  • 
way.  Ferrara  is  superb,  and  if  it  had  four  times  as 
many  inhabitants  it  would  be  tolerably  filled.  We 
found  there  the  Duke  of  Modena.  The  Cardinal  Lecrate 
had  arranQ;ed  a  concert  for  us  in  one  of  the  jjreat 
theatres,  not  being  able  to  give  us  a  play,  which,  for 
want  of  spectators,  can  only  be  managed  once  or  twice 
a  year.  This  theatre  is  finer  than  those  in  Vienna  ;  it 
holds  3,000  persons,  and  would  do  honour  to  a  great 
capital.  We  left  Ferrara  this  morning  at  five  o'clock. 
The  Cardinal  Leorate  of  Bolocfna  c^ave  us  an  eles^ant 
and  very  good  breakfast  at  the  University,  a  celebrated 
and  magnificent  place.  The  Librarian,  Abbe  Mezzo- 
fanti,  is  wortliy  of  his  position  ;  he  speaks  thirty  lan- 
guages, and  as  well  as  if  he  were  a  native  of  each  of  the 
thirty  countries.  I  attacked  him  in  German,  and  I  defy 
anyone  not  to   take  him  for   a  Saxon.     He  has  never 


PADUA   AND   FLOPvENCE.  27 

been  away  from  Bologna,  and  never  had  a  master.  I 
asked  how  he  got  the  right  inflexions  of  the  language. 
'  The  inflexions,'  replied  he,  '  all  spring  from  the  genius 
of  language.  I  learnt  in  the  grammar  that  each  letter 
is  pronounced  in  a  certain  manner  ;  I  read  and  under- 
stood it  in  three  months,  I  could  speak  it  in  six,  and 
since  then  I  have  held  conversations  with  Germans  of 
different  countries.  I  have  done  the  same  with  all  lan- 
guages. Indian  and  Chinese  are  the  only  ones  that  have 
embarrassed  me  a  little,  for  I  have  never  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  talking  either  with  a  mandarin  or  a  brahmin, 
so  that  I  am  not  sure  if  I  have  surmounted  tlie  vulgar 
pronunciation.'  I  made  an  inward  sign  of  humility, 
and  thouglit  myself  a  perfect  simpleton  beside  the 
Librarian  of  Bologna. 

216.  Florence,  June  14. — We  have  been  here  since 
eleven  yesterday  morning.  It  would  be  difficult  to 
explain  to  you  the  kind  of  impression  which  Florence 
must  necessarily  produce  on  everyone  who  loves  what 
is  beautiful  and  grand.  All  that  I  have  seen  up  to 
this  time  far  surpasses  my  expectations.  Great  God  ! 
what   men  they  were  in  past  times. 

Yesterday  I  went  through  the  gallery  of  the  Pitti 
Palace  and  Academy  of  Fine  Arts,  as  well  as  the  manu- 
factory of  pietra  dura.  To-day  I  have  seen  the  great 
gallery.  I  shall  return  here  every  day  that  I  am  in 
Florence.  I  declare  that  I  prefer  it  as  it  now  is  to  the 
Museum  aa  it  was.  It  is  difficult  to  form  an  idea  of 
this  immense  treasury  of  all  kinds  of  things  ;  the  build- 
ing is  magnificent,  and  above  all  perfectly  adapted  to 
its  object.  The  gallery  of  the  Pitti  Palace  is  a  perfect 
quintessence  of  beauty,  and  the  great  gallery  is  as  beau- 
tiful as  that  of  the  palace.  The  Venus  de  Medicis  is 
infinitely  better  placed   than  she  was  at  Paris.     She  is, 


28      EXTRACTS   FROM  METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

with  four  other  magnificent  statues,  in  the  Tribune  of 
the  Uffizi,  which  is  hL^hted  from  above.  There  are  in 
the  same  gallery  seven  or  eight  Eaphaels,  each  more 
beautiful  than  the  other.  Among  others  there  is  one 
which  represents  the  painter's  mistress,  and  it  is  beyond 
conception.  I  protest  that  the  Grand  Duke  is  the  richest 
man  in  the  world.  All  the  monuments  left  here  by 
Leopold  are  worthy  of  the  Medici :  many  even  surpass 
them. 

The  country  is  fine,  more  so,  however,  in  my  opi- 
nion, from  culture  than  from  its  natural  features.  The 
town  is  on  the  Apennines,  in  a  valley  formed  by  the 
Arno.  Tlie  soil  is  not  very  good  ;  nevertheless  cul- 
tivation has  made  Tuscany  one  of  the  most  productive 
countries  in  the  world.  It  would  be  quite  useless  to 
attempt  to  count  the  number  of  dwellings  to  be  seen 
from  every  eminence.  Besides  hundreds  of  towns  and 
villages,  from  one  window  there  may  be  seen,  be- 
tween Florence  and  Pistoia,  more  than  four  thousand 
country  houses  and  detached  dwellings  spread  and 
scattered  on  all  sides.  The  climate  is  divine  ;  there  is 
great  heat  from  eleven  till  five,  but  the  morning,  the 
evening,  and  the  night  are  like  what  a  day  in  Para- 
dise will  probably  be. 

217.  J^me  18. — The  day  before  yesterday  I  went  to 
Pisa,  and  returned  yesterday.  Three  or  four  very  violent 
storms  during  the  day  spoilt  the  illuminations  a  little, 
but  still  they  were  magnificent.  Pisa  in  itself  is  very 
curious.  There  are  three  edifices  close  together,  which 
are  as  beautiful  as  possible — the  Cathedral,  the  Tower 
{campanile),  and  the  Baptistry  of  St.  John.  A  fourth  far 
surpasses  them.  The  Crusaders,  on  their  return,  brought 
vessels  full  of  earth  from  Palestine.  They  placed  it  in 
a  field,  which  tliey  surrounded  with  a  building,  forming 


THE  ARCHDUCHESS  DELAYED.  29 

a  vast,  simple  corridor,  in  which  are  their  tombs.  Not 
being  able  to  die  in  the  Holy  Land,  they  wished  to  be 
buried  in  its  soil.  This  is  called  the  Campo  Santo.  No 
one  can  be  buried  there  without  special  permission 
from  the  Grand  Duke,  and  there  are  many  modern 
tombs.  The  corridors  are  used  now  as  a  museum.  They 
collect  there  all  that  is  dug  up  in  the  environs  of  Pisa, 
and  the  excavations  are  considerable. 

The  last  news  from  Lisbon  informs  us  that  the  Go- 
vernment has  sent  two  vessels,  intended  to  form  part  of 
the  convoy  of  the  Archduchess,  to  blockade  Pernam- 
buco,  and  they  have  done   well.     This  will,  however, 
cause  a  delay  of  two  or  three  weeks.     I  shall  therefore 
change  my  plans.     In  two  or  three  days  I  expect  the 
first  news  from  Eome.     I  shall  start  (if  I  take  this  jour- 
ney) as  soon  as  they  arrive,  for  that  city,  where  I  shall 
remain  ten  or  twelve  days,  and  then  return  to  Florence. 
I  accompany  the  Archduchess  to  Leghorn.     If  the  fleet 
should  be  delayed  beyond  July  15,  I  shall  make  over 
the  affair   of  the  surrender  of  the  Archduchess  to  M. 
d'Eltz,  and    shall   be,    as   I  told    you  when  I  left,  at 
Vienna  on  the  22nd  or  24th.     I  suppose  this  affair  at 
Pernambuco  will  make  a   great  noise  at  Vienna,  and 
that  our  gossips  are  talking  as  if  that  town  w^ere  between^ 
Purkersdorf  and  Sieghartskirchen.     It  appears  that  the^ 
rising  has  made  no  progress,  and  that  the  measures 
for   repressing   it  were  very  well  managed.      It  wiU; 
have  no  effect  on  the  departure  of  the  Archduchess,, 
except  the  necessity  of  hastily  equipping  two  new  ships- 
to  convey  her,  or  rather  to  complete  her  escort.     I  beg- 
you  to  mention  these  facts  to  the  trumpeters  of  the- 
good  town  of  Vienna. 

Por  the  rest,  my  journey   here  is  a  great  and  in- 
estimable benefit.     I  do  not  know  how  the  great  crisis- 


30      EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

brought  about  by  this  new  complication  would  have 
passed  over  if  I  had  not  been  on  the  spot.  If  my  good 
friends  at  Vienna  cry  out  for  or  against  my  good  for- 
tune, I  certainly  have  the  conviction  tliat  I  am  doing 
what  is  just  and  right,  and  at  the  right  moment;  the 
only  one  in  which  great  things  can  be  done.  My  pre- 
sence in  Italy  has  an  mcalculable  influence  on  the  pro- 
gress of  affairs.  If  I  could  be  vain  of  anything  that 
Heaven  has  helped  me  to  do  in  the  last  few  years,  it 
would  be  of  the  part  I  am  playing  at  this  interesting 
juncture  in  Europe.  The  sovereign  of  all  Italy  could 
not  be  received  as  I  am  ,  all  those  who  are  on  the  right 
side — and  they  are  very  numerous — crowd  round  me  ; 
they  give  me  their  entire  confidence,  and  look  for  safety 
from  me  alone.  The  Jacobins  hide  themselves,  and 
they  look  upon  me  as  a  rod  held  over  them.  If  I  liave 
ever  been  inspired  in  any  step  I  have  taken,  it  was  in 
deciding  to  come  here  ;  and  you  are  witness  that  I  made 
up  my  mind  m  a  quarter  of  an  hour. 

218.  June  20. — Yesterday  we  passed  a  charming 
evening,  a  small  party  having  been  made  at  Madame 
Appony's  to  hear  Catalani  sing.  The  two  Archduchesses 
came  and  all  our  suite.  She  sang  in  such  a  way  as  to 
make  all  tlie  company  wild  with  delight.  She  was  in 
good  voice,  and  you  would  have  been  as  much  en- 
chanted as  we  all  were.  Assuredly,  if  the  Holy  Virgin 
mingles  her  voice  witli  the  songs  of  the  1/lessed,  she 
must  sing  like  this  woman. 

I  shall  not  decide  on  my  journey  to  Eome  for  two 
or  three  days.  The  Holy  Father  is  always  so  ill  that 
he  cannot  attend  to  business ;  and  as  it  is  to  do  business 
with  him  that  I  go  there,  I  depend,  thank  God,  on  his 
faculties  much  more  than  on  my  own. 

219.  Ju7ie  28. — iSTot  only  does  my  journey  to  Rome 


ii 


FLOKENCE.  31 

become  every  day  more  problematical,  but  it  is  very 
probable  that  I  shall  not  go  at  all.  The  Pope,  although 
he  is  so  far  better  that  he  has  been  taken  from  Castel 
Gandolfo  to  the  Quirinal,  seems  unable  to  do  anything ; 
and  as  I  was  going  to  Eome  entirely  on  business,  I 
should  give  up  my  visit  if  I  could  not  attain  my  object. 

Yesterday  I  had  a  charming  drive.  About  three 
miles  from  the  town  there  is  a  mountain  on  which  was 
built  the  ancient  Etruscan  town  of  Fesula^,  now  Fiesole. 
There  are  some  remains  of  antiquity :  there  are  the 
walls  of  the  old  town,  which  date  back  to  the  time  of 
Porsenna  ;  and  in  the  midst  of  a  field  of  olives  are  the 
ruins  of  an  amphitheatre,  now  almost  entirely  covered 
over  by  landslips.  On  a  mound  are  the  remains  of  a 
temple  of  Bacchus  now  transformed  into  a  chapel.  It 
would  be  difficult  to  find  a  more  magnificent  site  ; 
Florence  with  its  innumerable  villas  is  under  your  feet ; 
you  can  trace  the  whole  valley  of  the  Ai-no,  and  the 
valleys  which  lead  to  Pistoia  and  to  Volterra.  It  was 
here  in  this  town  that  Gatihne  was  defeated,  and  that 
this  precursor  of  the  '  Nain  jaune  '  *  of  our  time  ceased 
to  threaten  the  existence  even  of  the  Eepublic.  Many 
recollections,  both  ancient  and  modern,  are  connected 
with  this  place,  and  with  every  spot  of  earth  on  which 
one  treads. 

A  remarkable  thing  in  this  country  is  the  kind  of 
culture  which  exists  among  the  people.  There  is  not  a 
peasant  who  does  not  speak  his  own  language  with  all 
the  refinement  and  elegance  of  an  academician  of  the 
Crusca.  It  is  interesting  to  hold  a  conversation  with 
these  good  people :  their  language  is  that  of  tlie  drawing- 
room — no  jargon,  no  shouting  or  raising  of  tlie  voice, 

*  Nain  jaune  was  an  illustrated  comic  journal  of  the  republican  colour. — 
Ed. 


32      EXTRACTS   FROM  METl^ERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

such  as  one  hears  in  the  rest  of  Italy.  A  vine-dresser, 
who  looked  Hke  a  half  nes^ro,  acted  as  cicerone.  This 
man  related  and  explained  everything  to  me  like  an 
antiquary.  Among  the  things  which  have  most  struck 
me  are  the  details  of  the  Church  of  the  Annunziata,  the 
first  which  was  used  by  the  Order  of  Servites.  This 
church  is  not  very  large,  but  beautiful,  and  exceedingly 
rich  in  marbles.  It  contains  pictures  of  the  first  rank, 
and  there  is,  among  other  things,  as  in  all  the  convents 
of  Italy,  an  interior  court  surrounded  by  an  open  corri- 
dor, and  here  all  the  arches  between  the  columns  are 
painted  in  fresco  by  Andrea  del  Sarto.  There  are  about 
forty  paintings  representing  the  foundation  of  the  order, 
all  of  inconceivable  beauty  of  design  and  composition. 
Here  also  is  the  superb  painting  of  the  Virgin  with  the 
Infant  Jesus  and  St.  Mark,  which  is  engraved  in  so  many 
ways.  One  of  the  arches  represents  the  triumph  of  the 
Virgin ;  she  is  seated  on  a  car  drawn  by  a  lion  and  a 
sheep — charming  in  idea,  so  rich  and  withal  so  simple. 
The  car  is  surrounded  by  angels  with  ideal  figures. 
These  paintings  were  paid  for  at  the  rate  of  twenty 
crowns  each.  The  persons  who  had  them  painted  took 
care  to  have  their  coats-of-arms  painted  on  them.  Their 
descendants  assuredly  cannot  regret  the  expense.  The 
frescoes  are  in  perfect  preservation.  In  this  chmate 
nothing  is  injured,  however  it  may  be  exposed  to  the 
air.  Given  a  good  painter  and  a  roof,  and  the  pictures 
will  be  handed  down  to  posterity. 

In  the  Church  of  Sta.  Croce  are  the  monuments  of 
celebrated  men.  Galileo  has  a  fine  tomb,  and  the 
Countess  of  Albany  has  erected  a  superb  monument  to 
Alfieri,  executed  by  Canova.  A  colossal  female,  perso- 
nating Italy,  is  represented  as  weeping  over  his  tomb. 
The  whole  thing  is  more  grandiose  than  beautiful.     I 


BRONZINOS   'LAST   JUDGMENT.'  33 

know  many  things  of  Canova's  much  better  conceived, 
and  which  speak  more  to  the  soul.  There  are  magni- 
ficent paintings  in  this  church,  among  others  a  '  Last 
Judgment '  by  Bronzino,  inconceivably  fine  as  to  execu- 
tion. Christ,  seated  on  an  eminence,  holds  His  hand  out 
to  the  elect,  who  are  issuing  from  a  tomb  at  His  feet. 
The  painter  has  taken  care  to  place  himself  with  his 
wife  and  his  daujjliter  amoni?  them.  He  seems  to  have 
made  sure  of  his  own  future  state.  If  all  who  enter 
Paradise  resemble  the  figures  in  this  picture,  it  would 
be  a  pity  if  there  should  be  neither  pencil  nor  palette 
there.  I  have  seen,  I  do  not  remember  where — at 
Padua,  I  think — a  small  picture,  the  beautiful  conception 
of  which  made  a  great  impression  upon  me.  Christ, 
with  an  air  simple  though  triumphant,  holds  up  the 
cross  in  the  middle  of  a  vast  grotto.  It  is  the  entrance 
of  Limbo.  On  the  right  of  the  picture  are  the  patriarchs 
weeping  with  joy  and  love.  St.  John  the  Baptist  calls 
to  him  a  number  of  beinsrs,  who  are  comino;  from  all 
parts  of  the  interior  of  the  cave,  and  shows  them  the 
cross.  There  is  an  inspiration  in  this  picture  which  is 
quite  magical.  It  is  no  longer  Christ  suffering  on  the 
cross,  but  Christ  having  triumphed  over  death,  and 
sharing  His  triumph  with  the  just,  who  are  entering 
into  His  kingdom.  Expectation  and  happiness  are 
equally  depicted  on  the  faces  ;  Christ  alone  is  calm,, 
and  St.  John  more  inspired  than  ever.  We  hear  him> 
cry  from  the  abyss,  '  The  hour  is  come  ! ' 

I  have  told  you  of  the  paintings ;  I  will  j^ass  now  to- 
the  sculpture,  and  to  something  which,  without  produc- 
ing chefs-d'ceuvre,  is  not  without  merit.  It  is  curious  to- 
see  the  manufactories  of  alabaster.  You  order  an  enor- 
mous vase  to-day,  and  they  bring  it  you  to-morrow.. 
You  wish  for  your  bust :  a  man  takes  a  model  of  you. 

VOL.  III.  D 


34      EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICfl'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS, 

in  clay  in  ten  minutes,  and  in  three  or  four  days  you 
have  a  bust  in  alabaster,  a  perfect  likeness.  Eltz  was 
modelled  to-day :  a  man  took  a  lump  of  clay,  and  I 
declare  to  you  that  one  could  not  think  more  quickly 
than  he  made  the  head,  the  nose,  the  mouth,  &c.  This 
sculptor,  who  is  not  a  disciple  of  Gall,  has  proved  to  me — 
what  we  knew  before,  however — that  the  theory  of  the 
said  doctor  is  true  in  every  respect.  Eltz  was  almost 
finished,  but  something  was  wanting ;  my  man  took  a 
step  forward,  and  with  a  firm  hand  he  raised  with  his 
thumbs  four  or  five  bumps  on  tlie  head  and  the  sides 
of  the  jaws.  From  that  moment  the  likeness  was 
striking. 

220.  June  29. — I  take  advantage  of  the  departure 
of  the  military  courier  to  inform  yoa,  my  dear,  tliat 
M.  de  Maccalon  has  received  news  which  leaves  no 
doubt  about  the  departure  of  the  fleet.  If  the  winds 
are  favourable  it  will  be  at  Leghorn  about  July  15. 
This  same  courier  has  brought  with  him  three  decora- 
tions of  the  Order  of  St.  Elizabeth  :  one  for  the  Arch- 
duchess, one  for  our  Empress,  and  the  third  for  you. 
The  ribbon  is  rose-colour ;  but  the  sea-air  has  faded  it 
so  much  that  it  is  now  a  sort  of  straw-colour.  It  will 
be  necessary  to  get  new  ribbon,  and  I  will  send  you 
your  decoration  as  soon  as  it  has  become  rose-coloured 
again.  As  you  love  the  pomps  of  this  world,  this  news 
will  make  you  very  happy.  I  am  sure  that  Leontine  * 
will  be  more  delighted  than  her  mamma  with  the  ribbon, 
and  that  she  will  have  great  pleasure  in  repeating  to  her 
nurse,  dass  Mama  hat  schones  Band.  The  order  itself  is 
superb  ;  it  is  generally  given  only  to  queens  or  princesses 
of  the  blood. 

I  do  not  think  I  have  ever  told  you  about  my  eye. 

•  Metternich's  daughter,  afterwards  Countess  Sandor. — Ed. 


ORDER   OF   ST.  ELIZABETH.  35 

It  makes  more  progress  in  one  day  here  than  it  did  in 
eight  at  Vienna.  I  am  well  satisfied,  and  so  is  my  phy- 
sician, who  is  becoming  very  famous  at  Florence.  He 
saves  every  day  four  or  five  eyes  ;  people  are  more  back- 
ward here  in  that  art  than  anyone  can  imagine.  Almost 
all  diseases  of  the  eye,  even  when  not  serious  at  first, 
lead  to  bhndness,  not  for  want  of  good  eyes,  but  for 
want  of  good  doctors.  Jaeger  *  has  told  me  astonish- 
ing facts  on  this  subject.  Just  imagine,  here  they  do 
not  know  one  of  the  instruments  or  curative  methods 
which  have  been  adopted  by  all  the  world  for  the  last 
thirty  or  forty  years.  Another  singular  fact  is  that  the 
poor  people  do  all  they  can  to  make  themselves  blind, 
for  here,  as  at  Rome,  it  is  the  blind  alone  who  can  exer- 
cise the  profession  of  mendicants.  Jaeger  offered  to 
restore  a  man's  sight  to  him  ;  the  man  asked  if  he  would 
also  undertake  his  maintenance. 

I  have  bought  two  pretty  things  :  a  charming  copy 
of  Canova's  Venus  and  an  enormous  alabaster  vase,  at 
a  ridiculous  price.  I  shall  not  buy  anything  else  unless 
I  go  to  Rome,  and,  as  I  sluiU  not  go,  I  shall  buy  nothing. 

221.  Poggio  Imperiale^ '  July  1. — Here  is  your 
decoration  from  the  other  w^orld,  my  dear  Laura.  You 
alone  will  have  a  new  ribbon,  for  that  which  j^ou  will 
receive  to-day  has  become  hortensia  instead  of  rose, 
which  it  should  be,  and  certainly  the  rose  need  not  be 
made  more  tender  than  nature  has  already  made  it.  I 
send  you  your  decree,  with  a  translation  into  French, 
with  which  Mercy  and  I  amused  ourselves  yesterday. 
The  turn  of  the  sentences  is  so  original  that  we  have 
tried  to  preserve  it  as  much  as  possible.  You  must 
reply  to  the  Queen.  The  decoration,  from  its  form,  seems 

•  Dr.  Fried  rich  Jaeger,  a  celebrated  physician  in  Vienna,  who  for  many 
years  was  Metteruich's  private  physician,  and  survived  him. — Ed. 

D  3 


36      EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

to  go  back  to  the  year  801 — that  is  to  say,  till  the  time 
of  Charlemafyne. 

The  Marquis  de  Maccalon  sent  me  yesterday,  for  the 
signature  of  the  contract  of  marriage,  a  medalhon  with 
the  portrait  of  the  King  surrounded  by  precious  stones, 
but  so  shamefully  painted  that  he  would  not  let  me 
keep  it.  The  painter,  who  does  not  seem  to  be  one  at 
all,  has  aimed  at  making  his  Most  Faithful  Majesty  smile. 
He  has  opened  his  mouth  so  wide  that  he  was  forced 
to  show  either  his  teeth  or  his  tongue.  The  upper 
teeth  show  like  a  ball  of  ivory  lying  on  a  tongue,  to  say 
the  least,  as  thick. 

Everything  convinces  me  that  the  fleet  must  arrive 
at  Leghorn  in  eight  or  ten  days.  We  go,  therefore, 
without  further  delay  to  settle  ourselves  there  till  the 
moment  of  embarkation,  and  I  will  take  my  route  by 
Modena  and  Parma  to  return  to  you,  and  prepare  to 
be  made  a  grandpapa. 

Metternich  to  his  daughter  Marie,  Florence,  July  3. 

222.  Time  goes  on,  iny  dear  Marie,  and  I  am 
expecting  the  arrival  of  this  devil  of  a  fleet  as  if  it  were 
the  Messiah,  in  order  to  regain  my  liberty,  or  rather 
to  win  it  again  by  handing  over  the  key  of  the  house 
to  M.  d'Eltz.  It  seems,  however,  that  it  will  be  here 
about  the  10th  of  this  month.  We  shall  pass  four  or 
five  days  free  at  Leghorn,  and  then  vogue  la  galere.  It 
appears  that  the  feminine  part  of  the  Portuguese  Court 
is  coming.  This  makes  the  ladies'  journey  to  Brazil 
very  doubtful.  Of  these  ladies  Madame  de  Khuenburg 
is  estimable,  and  has  most  agreeable  manners ;  Madame 

de  Lodrin  is  tall,  and  Madame  de ^^s^lj-     Both 

are    very  good.     There  you    have  their  finished    por- 


THE   NEIGHBOURHOOD   OF  FLORENCE.  37 

traits.  Old  Edling  is  very  well.  His  fall  has  bleached 
him  ;  nothing  is  left  of  his  oUve-colourecl  Brazilian 
cheeks  but  the  cheek  bones.  His  mind  has  recovered, 
but  he  still  wanders  sometimes.  For  example,  he  asked 
me  yesterday  (the  subject  was  Marie  Louise),  '  Is  she 
not  at  Paris  ?  '  I  said  to  him,  '  Good  God,  no  ;  she  is 
at  Parma.'  '  True,'  said  Edling  ;  '  I  had  forgotten  that 
the  Emperor  Napoleon  had  bought  Parma  ! '  You  may 
be  sure  I  said  nothiniij'  more  to  him,  for  I  do  not  like  to 
waste  my  words. 

My  health  is  very  good.     I  have  tested  anew  the 
perfections  of  the  Court  cuisine. 

I  had  a  charming  walk  yesterday  evening.  All  the 
surrounding  country  is  a  succession  of  hills  more  or 
less  high.  All  offer  the  most  delicious  prospects,  all  are 
planted,  and  too  much  planted  for  efiect.  The  trees 
are  oHves,  figs,  bignonias,  catalpas,  all  in  bloom  ;  the 
gardens,  even  those  of  the  peasants,  are  filled  with 
orange  trees ;  the  hedges  are  composed  principally  of 
jasmine,  others  of  the  flowering  arbutus  ;  there  are 
clematis  blossoms  large  as  pompon  roses,  pomegranates 
covered  with  flowers.  The  vines  are  not  planted  in  the 
same  way  as  on  the  other  side  of  the  Po  ;  a  vine  is 
planted  by  the  side  of  a  tree,  and,  being  allowed  to  chmb 
up  it,  ends  by  covering  more  or  less  the  whole  of  it,  so 
that  the  grapes  appear  to  belong  to  the  tree.  All  the 
plants  smell  twice  as  sweet  as  they  do  with  us ;  and  the 
grass  and  the  plants  at  the  roadside  are  so  aromatic  that 
by  the  evening  one  knows  not  what  it  is,  but  that  all  the 
air  is  perfumed.  What  adds  to  the  charm  of  the  first 
part  of  the  night  is  the  immense  quantity  of  small 
luminous  flies,  which  they  call  here  '  lucciole.'  They 
fly  in  milHons  about  all  places  covered  with  grass  and 
round  the  trees.     Their  light  is  at  least  as  sparkhng 


38      EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

and  strong  as  the  sparks  from  a  steel.  The  whole 
country  seems  on  fire.  The  moon  of  Florence,  which, 
Uke  that  of  Vienna,  is  near  the  full,  is  clear  as  she  never  is 
with  us.  The  air  is  calm  at  that  hour,  about  fourteen 
or  fifteen  degrees,  light  and  clear.  One  can  well  under- 
stand how  tliis  beautiful  chmate  has  produced  so  many- 
painters  and  poets. 

I  intend  to  order  at  Eome  two  bas-reliefs  from  Thor- 
waldsen.  I  will  have  them  placed  in  the  two  panels, 
which  I  will  make  in  stucco,  at  the  end  of  the  small 
drawing-room  at  the  villa.  I  assure  you  people  will 
come  to  see  tliem. 

Metternich  to  his  Wife,  Florence,  July  10. 

223.  Here  we  are,  my  dear,  at  the  10th  of  the 
month,  and  we  do  not  yet  know  the  exact  day  of  the 
arrival  of  the  fleet.  This  is  my  plan  of  campaign.  I 
sliall  leave  here  on  the  20th,  whether  the  Archduchess 
has  been  surrendered  or  not.  I  shall  take  eight  days 
from  here  to  Vienna,  for  I  shall  stop  one  day  at  Modena, 
and  I  only  wish  to  travel  from  five  in  the  evening  to  six 
in  the  morning,  so  as  to  allow  tlie  hours  of  intense  heat 
to  pass,  during  which  I  shall  rest  and  dine.  Conse- 
quently I  shall  be  with  you  from  the  27th  to  the  29th. 
I  shall  spend  three  clear  days  at  Vienna,  and  shall  leave 
again  on  the  4th  for  Carlsbad.  If  the  fleet  arrives  here 
on  the  20th,  I  shall  effect  the  transference  before  my 
departure  ;  if  not,  I  shall  make  over  the  affair  to  Eltz. 
The  day  after  to-morrow  I  shall  probably  pass  four-and- 
twenty  hours  at  Leghorn,  to  inspect  the  place  and 
arrange  everything  proper  for  the  ceremony.  The 
weather  is  so  calm  that  the  vessels  cannot  make  mucli 
way  ;  it  is  therefore  necessary  to  reckon  on  three  or 
even  four  weeks'  sailing,  although  with   a  fresh  wind 


VIEW  FROM  THE   LIGHTHOUSE   AT   LEGHORN.        39 

the  route  from  Lisbon  to  Leghorn  takes  fifteen  or  six- 
teen days  at  the  most. 

The  Archduchess  Marie  Louise  has  been  here  since 
the  day  before  5^esterday.  We  form  quite  a  colony  at 
Poggio.  After  all,  it  would  hold  three  times  as  many 
people. 

224.  Poggio,  July  17. — I  set  out  for  this  place  on  the 
14th,  at  six  in  the  evening,  with  MM.  d'Appony  and  de 
Maccalon,  the  faithful  Floret,  the  amiable  Hudelist,  and 
Prince  Jablonowsky,  who  had  arrived  from  Naples. 
We  had  five  coaches.  We  arrived  at  three  in  the 
morning  at  Leghorn.  As  we  all  liad  been  clever  enough 
to  sleep  in  the  carriage,  none  of  us  cared  to  go  to  bed. 
It  was  beautiful  and  fresh,  and  we  had  the  prospect  of 
a  very  hot  day  before  us.  We  therefore  decided  to  go 
at  once  to  see  the  port  and  everything  that  would  have 
exposed  us  to  the  heat  of  the  sun.  We  began  by  as- 
cending the  beautiful  lighthouse  which  is  at  the  end  of 
the  new  pier.  There  we  beheld  the  first  rays  of  the 
sun  gilding  the  rocks  of  the  islands  of  Gorgona,  Capraja, 
Corsica,  and  Elba.  About  two  miles  seaward  was  the 
American  squadron,  which  had  just  left  the  roadstead 
of  Leghorn,  and  also  two  Neapohtan  frigates  and  a  brig 
which  the  Dey  of  Algiers  had  bought  at  Leghorn,  in 
order  to  carry  off  Tuscan  subjects  in  the  open  sea  close 
by.  The  whole  view  was  magnificent.  Gorgona  is 
about  fifteen  miles  off ;  it  is  nothing  but  an  immense 
rock  inhabited  by  fishermen  and  a  small  Tuscan  garri- 
son. Capraja  and  Corsica  were  so  flooded  with  the 
bright  morning  light  that  every  valley  could  be  dis- 
tinguished ;  the  island  of  Elba  was  very  plain,  but 
Porto-Ferrajo  is  too  near  the  level  of  the  sea  to  be  per- 
ceived at  that  distance.  I  could  not  see  that  island 
without  thinking  of  my  forced  march  on  March  5,  1815, 


40      EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICHS   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

in  consequence  of  tlie  news  of  Napoleon's  departure. 
Having  surveyed  the  whole  neighbourhood  of  the  port, 
we  returned,  and  then  took  some  hours  of  repose ;  at 
midday  we  hurried  through  the  shops,  of  which  that  of 
Michelis  is  the  most  beautiful  and  certainly  the  only 
one  of  its  kind  in  the  world.  There  are  sold  the  most 
beautiful  alabasters  and  magnificent  marbles.  No  one 
could  look  at  Pisani's  who  had  examined  those  made  at 
Leghorn.  I  bought  several  charming  things  at  a  ridi- 
culous price,  considering  the  workmanship.  I  went 
over  the  spot  where  the  surrender  of  the  Archduchess  will 
take  place.  We  dined  at  the  principal  hotel — which  did 
not  deserve  that  title — and  at  six  in  the  evening  we  em- 
barked to  pay  a  visit  to  the  American  Commodore. 
To  avoid  the  firing  of  guns  I  would  not  be  announced, 
and  I  remained  on  board  till  sunset,  when  tliey  do  not 
salute.  The  flagship  has  eighty-four  guns,  and  is  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  vessels  I  have  ever  seen.  The  Americans, 
who  have  a  great  rivalry  with  the  English,  owed  their 
success  in  the  last  war  to  the  new  construction  of  their 
ships  of  the  line,  some  of  which  carry  as  many  as  ninety 
guns.  They  are  constructed  like  frigates,  but  without 
quarter-decks,  and  are  fast  sailers  like  frigates,  and  can 
consequently  overtake  these  vessels,  which  in  England 
never  carry  more  than  eighty  guns.  They  can  also 
avoid  with  the  same  facility  vessels  of  the  line  of 
greater  tonnage.  The  Commodore  received  us  with 
much  distinction ;  he  immediately  placed  the  whole 
crew  under  arms,  and  showed  me  over  every  part  of  his 
ship.  Its  whole  appearance  and  neatness  are  admirable. 
I  do  not  know  if  in  these  respects  it  does  not  even  sur- 
pass the  English  ships ;  on  the  other  hand,  the  style  of 
the  crew  does  not  equal  that  of  the  latter.  The  Com- 
modore is  a   great  amateur  of  the   fine  arts  and  fine 


AMERICAN   MEN   OF   WAR.  41 

animals.  He  has  pictures  in  his  cabin,  among  others  a 
copy  of  the  portrait  of  Pope  Juhus  II.,  after  Raphael,  and 
between  decks  and  on  the  upper  deck  African  gazelles 
and  a  great  Canadian  bear.  Between  decks,  where  the 
sailors  dine,  there  is  on  each  table  a  pyramid  of  very 
clean  vessels,  which  contain  the  drink  for  the  sailors, 
and  a  Bible  distributed  by  the  Bible  Society  of  Boston. 
The  maladie  hiblique  extends  through  both  hemispheres. 
After  leaving  the  fleet,  we  had  another  look  at  the  shops, 
which  the  principal  merchants  had  taken  care  to  have 
well  illuminated.  We  retired  at  eleven,  and  at  six  we 
started  in  the  carriage  for  Lucca.  Leghorn  is  a  beau- 
tiful town,  or  rather  it  has  one  fine  square,  and  one  fine 
street.  There  is  great  confusion  in  this  street,  and  it  is 
like  a  very  busy  market.  I  saw  the  synagogue,  the 
most  beautiful  in  Italy  (there  are  twelve  thousand  Jews 
at  Leghorn,  who  enjoy  great  privileges).  I  wanted  to 
visit  the  Lazaretto  for  quarantine,  but  could  not  find  a 
moment. 

I  reached  Lucca  at  mid-day.  The  town  is  old  and 
quite  lovely  ;  the  country  is  as  charming  as  it  is  pos- 
sible to  see.  Lucca  is  situated  in  a  small  plain,  in  the 
midst  of  beautiful  \\\(A\  mountains  rich  in  veo-etation. 
They  are  clothed  with  olive  trees  to  the  very  summit. 
The  country  is  not  cut  up  as  it  is  in  other  parts  of 
Italy,  and  the  soil  is  excellent.  At  two  o'clock  I  went 
to  Saltocchio,  a  villa  belonging  to  M.  Canamy,  who 
was  Madame  Ehsa's  ecuyer  and  with  good  reason ;  she 
is  charming.  About  two  thousand  steps  from  that  is 
Marha,  a  quite  divine  place,  which  Madame  Ehsa  has 
had  built  and  planted.  The  house  recalls  to  my  mind 
the  most  comfortable  French  cliateaux.  The  garden  is 
planted  in  the  English  style,  and  that  marvellously  ; 
it   is   large  and    has    a  very    uncommon    appearance, 


42      EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

perhaps  even  unique  of  its  kind,  for  I  know  of  no  other 
garden  in  the  EngUsh  style  on  this  side  of  the  Alps, 
planted  with  such  a  profusion  of  trees  and  exotic  flowers  ; 
there  are,  for  example,  whole  groves  of  magnolias. 
The  climate  of  Lucca  is  a  great  deal  milder  than  that 
of  Florence  ;  the  heat  is  not  so  excessive  during  the 
summer,  and  the  cold  is  never  more  than  two  or  three 
degrees  below  zero  during  winter,  so  that  the  most  de- 
licate plants  grow  in  the  open  air.  After  taking  a  turn 
in  the  gardens,  we  dined  at  Marlia,  where  I  had  invited 
the  first  people  in  Lucca.  We  started  again  at  six  in 
the  evening  and  arrived  at  Florence  at  midnight.  Two 
days  could  not  possibly  have  been  spent  better  or  more 
agreeably. 

225.  Florence,  July  12. — I  shall  go  to-morrow  to 
Leghorn,  to  prepare  for  the  arrival  of  my  Princess,  and 
I  shall  leave  here  to-morrow  at  six  in  the  evening.  I 
shall  be  at  Leghorn  at  one  or  two  in  the  morning  ;  I 
shall  remain  there  the  whole  of  the  14th,  and  leave 
Leghorn  on  the  loth  at  two  in  the  morning  ;  by  day- 
break I  shall  be  at  Pisa,  which  I  have  seen  ;  I  shall  go 
to  the  stud  of  camels  belonging  to  the  Grand  Duke,  the 
only  establishment  of  the  kind  in  Europe  ;  fi'om  there 
to  the  baths  of  Pisa,  and  dine  at  Lucca,  where  I  shall 
pass  the  rest  of  the  day.  On  the  morning  of  the 
15th  I  shall  return  to  Poggio,  so  I  shall  have  seen  a 
great  deal  in  a  short  time.  The  Portuguese  fleet  should, 
according  to  letters  from  Lisbon  of  June  10,  have  left 
that  port  on  the  18th  or  22nd,  so  it  may  be  expected  at 
Leghorn  at  any  hour.  I  shall  be  delighted  if  it  arrives 
there  exactly  on  the  14th. 

Here  is  a  charming  anecdote  of  Charles  Zichy,  the 
younger.  He  was  at  Parma  last  spring.  The  Arch- 
duchess invited  him  to  dinner.  A  famous  improvisatore, 


ANECDOTE   OF  ZICHY   AND   THE   CARDINAL.  43 

Gricci,  was  to  give  a  representation  after  dinner.  Zichy 
took  care  to  arrive  first ;  after  him  the  Cardinal  Arch- 
bishop of  Parma.  These  two  gentlemen  did  not  know 
one  another.  Zichy,  however,  guessed  by  the  red 
stockings  of  the  Cardinal  that  he  must  be  some  one  of 
importance,  and  ended  by  breaking  the  ice,  and  present- 
ing himself  to  the  Cardinal,  saying  '  lo  sono  Zichy.'' 
The  Cardinal  overwhelmed  him  with  compliments,  and 
would  have  embraced  him  :  '  Signor  Gricci,  ah  !  Signor 
Gricci;  che  piacere,  che  rep'utazioiie,  che  talento !  Av- 
remmo  il  piacere  di  sentirla,  d'ammirarla'  Zichy,  de- 
lighted to  see  that  his  name  produced  such  an  extra- 
ordinary effect,  being  pressed  by  the  old  Cardinal  to 
give  him  a  specimen  of  his  savoir  /aire  just  to  pass  the 
time,  hesitated,  talked  of  his  small  merits,  his  services, 
of  the  Chamber,  of  all  he  had  done  for  twenty  years 
without  advancement !  The  arrival  of  Marie  Louise 
alone  put  an  end  to  the  scene.  She  herself  told  me  the 
story  to-day. 

226.  July  23. — Lhomme  propose,  chere  amie,  et 
Dieu  dispose!  This  devil  of  a  fleet  is  just  eight  days 
too  late.  A  courier  arrived  here  yesterday  from  Lisbon, 
having  taken  fourteen  days,  and  he  informed  us  that 
the  fleet  set  sail  on  the  6th  of  this  month.  It  may 
arrive  to-morrow,  the  day  after,  or  in  a  week  or  ten 
days,  according  to  the  wind.  It  is  not  Hkely  that  it 
will  take  more  than  three  weeks  coming,  and  in  that 
case  it  will  be  at  Leghorn  from  the  27th  to  the  29th. 
The  embarkation  of  the  Archduchess  cannot  take  place 
for  seven  or  eight  days  after  it  has  anchored  in  the 
roads  ;  it  must  take  from  three  to  five  days  for  re- 
victualling  and  embarking  the  luggage.  I  told  you  in 
my  last,  that  if  I  had  no  news  on  the  22nd  I  should 
leave  on  the  25th.     Now  I  cannot  see  that  this  will  be 


44      EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

possible.  The  ceremonies  would  not  detain  me  except 
for  the  sake  of  decency,  but  business  will.  I  must  see 
the  Portuguese  Commissioner,  at  least  I  can  hardly  help 
it,  as  he  has  business  with  me,  and  it  will  at  least  be 
very  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  avoid  waiting  till  the 
moment  of  arrival. 

227.  July  26. — That  blessed  squadron  has  at  last 
come  to  anchor  at  Leghorn.  It  was  recognised  and 
signalled  yesterday  at  mid-day,  at  the  distance  of  twenty 
miles.     It  entered  the  roads  two  hours  and  a  half  agfo. 

According  to  my  calculations,  it  must  take  ten  or 
twelve  days  to  revictual.  Consequently  I  leave  to-day 
for  the  baths  of  Lucca,  where  I  shall  be  at  six  this 
evening.  I  shall  begin  my  cure  to-morrow,  and  I  shall 
only  interrupt  it  during  the  two  days  which  I  shall 
spend  at  Leghorn,  in  order  to  complete  my  task.  These 
days  depend  on  the  above-mentioned  question  of  the 
revictualhng  of  the  Portuguese  fleet. 


45 


AT  THE  BATHS  OF  LUCCA. 

Extracts  from  the  private  Letters  from  Metternich  to  his  Family, 
from  July  28  to  August  1817. 

228.  DescriptJon  of  Lucca.  229.  Numerous  guests.  230.  Visit  of  the 
Archduchess  to  Leghorn — arrival  of  the  English  Admiral  Penrose — de- 
scription of  the  Portuguese  ships.  231.  The  ceremony  of  surrendering  the 
Archduchess — farewell.  232.  The  Archduchess's  ship  sets  sail — Marie 
Louise.     233.  Metternich's  departure  from  Lucca. 

Metternich  to  his  Wife,  Baths  of  Lucca,  July  2S,  1817. 

228.  I  am  here  in  the  most  charming  spot  in  the 
world.  The  road  from  Lucca  to  the  waters  passes 
through  tlie  most  picturesque  valley  that  can  be  con- 
ceived. The  mountains  which  border  it  are  as  hi<Tli  as 
the  Styrian  Alps  (excepting  of  course  the  summits  co- 
vered with  perpetual  snow).  A  majestic  torrent  rushes 
through  it,  and  this  most  beautiful  I'oad  brings  us,  at 
the  distance  of  fifteen  miles,  to  the  baths  and  waters. 
I  am  living  in  the  part  called  the  Villa  de'  Bagni,  a  house 
which  Elisa  had  built,  or  rather  arranged,  for  herself; 
this  will  tell  you  that  it  is  comfortable  and  well  situated. 
I  have  a  bath  in  the  house  itself,  and  the  waters  for 
drinking  are  close  by.  About  a  mile  from  this  are  the 
bagni  caldi ;  they  carry  anyone  who  wishes  to  go  there 
in  a  chair.  It  is  a  curious  sight  to  see  the  quantity  of 
open  and  covered  chairs  which  cross  a  large  wood  of 
chestnuts  and  a  very  steep  mountain.  I  can  only  com- 
pare the  situation  to  that  of  Styria ;  add  to  that  the 
vegetation  of  Italy,  and  you  embelhsh  the  picture  amaz- 


46      EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

ingly.  The  air  is  excellent,  it  is  neither  too  hot  nor  too 
cold  ;  the  establishments  for  the  baths  are  well  con- 
(  ucted,  and  luxuriously  carried  out.  Everything  that 
with  us  would  be  of  wood  is  here  of  the  most  beautiful 
Carrara  marble. 

The  news  which  I  receive  from  Leghorn  do  not 
allow  me  to  suppose  that  the  embarkation  can  take 
place  before  August  15.  This  proves  to  me  that  the 
Portuguese  are  the  slowest  people  in  the  world.  The 
ships  require  a  number  of  things  which  the  Government 
at  Lisbon  had  not  time  to  procure,  although  they  had 
eight  months  in  which  to  do  it.  The  Admiral  requires 
ten  days  for  revictualhng  ;  I  give  him  twenty,  and  that 
brings  us  to  August  15.  If  such  is  the  case,  1  shall  try 
to  finish  my  course  of  waters  before  quitting  Leghorn, 
and  I  shall  leave  that  port  straight  for  Vienna.  If  the 
Admiral  is,  contrary  to  my  expectation,  more  expedi- 
tious, I  shall  make  an  interval  of  two  days  in  my  cure. 

229.  Baths  of  Lucca,  August  2. — My  house  is  full 
of  visitors ;  I  have  with  me  MM.  de  Maccalon,  de  Na- 
varro, and  de  Mello ;  Wallmoden  and  his  brother,  and 
D'Aspre  ;  Louis  Kaunitz  and  Golowkin  ;  the  Abbe  Justel 
and  two  painters.  I  have,  therefore,  been  obliged  to 
take  another  house  to  lodge  those  who  cannot  find  room 
in  my  palace.  Everybody  is  enchanted  with  the  place  ; 
they  all  declare  that  there  cannot  be  anything  more 
beautiful,  and  I  am  of  the  same  opinion.  I  think  the 
life  of  a  Prince  of  Lucca  is,  without  doubt,  one  of  the 
happiest  and  most  to  be  envied.  This  Httle  country  has 
everything  and  not  too  much ;  it  contains  a  town,  a 
country-house,  a  bath,  a  seaport,  a  lake,  a  river,  &c. 
You  see  the  emharras  des  richesses  is  not  excessive,  while 
that  of  choice  does  not  present  itself  at  all :  in  fact, 
here  ambition  and  enjoyment  never  being  directed  to 


LEGHORN.  47 

more  tlian  one  object,  the  first  must  ever  be  limited,  and 
the  second  become  constant. 

230.  Leghorn^  August  10. — I  arrived  here  at  eight 
in  the  evening.  I  found  all  the  Courts  and  four  thousand 
visitors.  I  have  been  to  see  my  Princess,  and  I  went 
with  her  to  the  theatre.  The  house  is  magnificent,  not 
much  smaller  than  La  Scala,  and  has  five  rows  of  boxes. 
They  gave  us  the  '  Orazi,'  by  Cimarosa,  a  superb  opera, 
but  unhappily  sung  by  those  horrible  Germans  from 
the  Pergola  of  Florence,  against  whom  I  have  already 
expressed  my  wrath  at  the  time  of  my  arrival  in  this 
town.  I  find  they  have  added  to  the  troupe  a  second 
dancer  from  Milan. 

I  have  just  returned,  and  wi-ite  to  you  immediately. 
The  surrender  will  be  effected  the  day  after  to-morrow, 
and  the  embarkation  the  day  after  that.  The  vessels 
will  set  sail  the  same  day.  I  will  tell  you  all  about  the 
ships  when  I  have  seen  them.  Admiral  Penrose  arrived 
here  to-day  in  a  seventy-four  gun  ship.  We  have,  there- 
fore, a  fleet  of  several  different  nations,  who  will  add  to 
the  splendour  of  i\\efete  by  the  number  of  their  salutes. 
The  Portuguese  declare  that  they  will  deliver  their  Prin- 
cess to  their  Prince  in  forty  or  forty-five  days,  counting 
the  passage  of  the  strait. 

August  11. — I  have  been  on  board  the  Portuguese 
vessels  this  morning.  They  are  very  fine.  The 'Jean  VI.' 
is  pierced  for  ninety  guns  :  it  carries  only  thirty-six,  for 
in  every  place  where  there  should  be  one  beyond  that 
number  they  have  made  a  cabin  for  one  of  the  numerous 
ladies  we  are  sending  to  Brazil,  The  Archduchess's 
apartment  is  as  well  cared  for  as  possible  ;  it  is  spacious 
and  furnished  with  much  luxury.  She  has  a  fine  grand 
dining-room,  a  bedroom,  dressing-room,  and  bath.  Be- 
sides all  this,  there  is  great  tent  on  the  deck,  which 


48      EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICHS   TRIVATE   LETTERS, 

would  easily  liold  three  liimdi'ed  people.     The  '  St.  Se- 
bastian '  is  of  the  same  power,  and  Eltz  will  consequently 
find  himself  Iodised  as   if  he  were  the  ambassador  of 
Neptune   himself.     Ii   is    difficult    to    imagine   all   the 
people  that  these  vessels  contain :  besides  the  Austrian 
ladies,  there  is  the  Portuguese  Court — that   is  to  say, 
three  officials  of  the  Court.     Each  of  these  "■entlemen 
has  his  wife  and  children  with  him,  and  they  all  have 
large  families ;  the  Grand-Master,  Castel-Melhor,  has  five 
children.    The  father,  mother,  and  children  have  been  ill 
the  whole  way  from  Lisbon  to  this  place.     The  number 
of  officers  of  every  grade  has  been  tripled.     Above  all, 
remember  that  a  considerable  number  of  cows,  calves, 
pigs,  sheep,  four  thousand  fowls,  some  hundreds  of  ducks, 
-and  from  four  to  five  hundred  canaries,  and  lars^e  and 
small  birds  from  Brazil,  and  you  must  see  that  the  ark 
of  old  Noah  was  a  child's  toy  in  comparison  with  the 
'  Jean  VI.'     May  God  preserve  this  floating  world  from 
shipwreck  !     The  Admiral  promises  well :  he  engages 
himself  to  arrive  in  thirty-five  or  forty  days ;  you  see, 
therefore,  that  the  Portuguese  can  sometimes  be  prompt. 
231.  August  12. — I  have  concluded  my  ceremony 
to-day,  and  con  brio,  I  flatter  myself.     The  act  of  giving 
up  the  Archduchess  was  very  beautiful  and  very  solemn. 
Every  one   assembled  at  eleven,  and  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  afterwards  the  ceremony  commenced.     It  lasted  a 
good  half  hour,  and  M.  de  Castel-Melhor  received  his 
royal  Princess  from  my  hand — unworthy  from  this  mo- 
ment to  touch  hers — as  the  Portuguese,  both  men  and 
women,  in  kissing  it  kneel  on  one  knee.     At  two  we  had 
a  grand  dinner,  which,  by  the  by,  did  not  do  honour 
to  the  cook  of  his  Imperial  and  Eoyal  Apostolic  Majesty. 
At  four  we  all  paid  a  visit  to  Admiral  Penrose,  on  the 
'  Albion,'   a  superb  vessel  of  seventy-four  guns.     The 


I-EGHORN.  49 

Admiral  gave  a  grand  collation  to  the  Archduchesses 
and  the  Grand  Duke.  The  guns  fired,  and  the  show  was 
magnificent,  with  the  immense  number  of  pleasure-boats 
that  accompanied  the  Grand  Duke,  in  which  were  the 
princes  and  great  personages.  All  the  men-of-war  gave 
the  royal  salute,  which  is  in  my  opinion  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  sights  that  the  ingenuity  of  man  has  invented. 
At  six  we  conducted  the  Prince  of  Salerno  and  Mon- 
seigneur  the  Archduke  on  board  their  frigate,  and  left 
them  there.  They  left  that  night  with  a  fair  wind  for 
Naples. 

This  same  '  Albion '  was  a  good  deal  knocked  about 
before  Algiers.  The  vessel  bears  no  marks,  but  there 
are  a  number  of  men  on  board  who  have  only  one  arm  ; 
amoncT  others  the  Admiral's  son-in-law,  who  commands 
the  ship. 

August  13. — To-day  at  four  I  conducted  the  Arch- 
duchess on  board.  We  embarked  on  that  grand  ship 
the  '  Jean  VI.'  As  we  passed  through  the  port  we  were 
saluted  by  all  the  batteries  of  the  fortress,  and  by  an 
immense  concourse  of  spectators.  It  took  us  half  an 
hour  to  reach  the  ship,  which  the  Archduchess  now 
saw  for  the  first  time.  She  thought  her  apartment  very 
beautiful,  and  with  reason  :  it  would  be  difficult  to  make 
it  more  elegant.  All  the  ladies  on  board  are  well  lodo^ed  : 
other  people  as  best  they  may.  At  six  the  Archduchess 
Marie  Louise  came  and  joined  us,  upon  which  all  the 
guns  began  firino;  again.  The  sea  was  covered  with 
boats,  and  the  most  lovely  weather  favoured  the  fete ; 
at  niglit  the  two  Portuguese  vessels  were  illuminated. 
Their  outlines  stood  out  marvellously  on  a  sea  calm  and 
smooth  as  ice.  At  ten,  the  wind  becoming  stronger  and 
the  sea  rising  very  much,  we  re-embarked  on  our  frail 
bark  and  re  entered  the  port. 

VOL..  III.  E 


50      EXTRACTS  FROM  METTERNICII'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

The  sea  having  been  smooth  all  the  evening,  no  one 
of  the  Princess's  suite  was  sick  except  one  of  her  maids, 
who  will  most  probably  not  accompany  her.  The  wind 
is  contrary,  the  immense  quantities  of  luggage  and 
different  packages  must  be  put  in  order,  so  that  the 
squadron  Avill  not  be  able  to  set  sail  for  four-and-twenty 
liours.  I  shall  go  on  board  again  to-morrow,  and  at 
three  I  shall  leave  for  my  baths. 

Before  I  start  I  will  write  you  a  line.  The  only 
person  to  be  pitied  on  board  is  Madame  de  Lodron. 
She  can  only  stand  upright  between  the  beams  which 
form  the  ceiling  of  the  cabin.  Her  bed  is  too  short,  so 
that  it  Avill  be  wonderful  if  she  does  not  arrive  at  Brazil 
bent  double  by  circumstances  instead  of  age.  You  may 
guess  what  she  will  be  like  when  she  returns. 

232.  Baths  of  Lucca^  August  16. — I  have  taken 
leave  of  my  Archduchess.  The  squadron  set  sail  yes- 
terday morning  at  half-past  five  ;  before  ten  it  was 
lost  to  sight,  and  our  poor  ladies  were  left  to  tlieir 
fate.  Marie  Louise  left  Leghorn  yesterday,  after  the 
departure  of  her  sister.  She  arrived  here  at  mid-day  ; 
dined  with  me  and  slept  at  Marlia,  from  whence  she 
departed  this  morning  by  the  Pontremoli  road,  which 
she  wishes  to  see,  because  it  will  go  through  a  great 
part  of  lier  duchy.  A  road  which  exists  only  on  paper 
is  not  convenient  for  travellers  ;  so  she  will  have  to  ride 
fifty  miles  on  horseback.  I  shall  go  one  of  these  days 
by  Sarzana  to  the  Gulf  of  Spezzia.  It  would  take  thirty 
hours  for  this  excursion,  which  would  be  interesting  to 
me  partly  from  curiosity  :  it  would  be  interesting  to  see 
the  plan  of  this  road,  which  is  of  very  great  importance 
to  us ;  and  I  should  visit  in  passing  the  quarries  of 
Carrara.  I  shall  sleep  at  Massa,  and  the  next  day 
I   shall   return   here.     I   shall   choose  for   this   expe- 


THE   BATHS   OF   LUCCA.  51 

dition  one  of  the  days  of  interruption  ordered  in  every 
cure. 

233.  At  the  Waters  of  Lucca,  August  29. — I  shall 
leave  here  to-morrow  morning  and  sleep  at  Massa,  after 
having  visited  Carrara.  The  day  after  to-morrow  (the 
31st)  I  shall  start  early  in  the  morning  for  Lerici,  where 
I  shall  see  the  Gulf  of  Spezzia,  then  I  shall  return  to 
dine  at  Massa  and  sleep  at  Pistoia.  On  the  1st  1  shall 
go  to  Modena.  On  the  2nd  I  shall  sleep  at  Parma, 
where  I  shall  remain  on  the  3rd.  On  the  4th  I  go  as 
far  as  Verona,  where  I  shall  have  a  meeting  on  business 
with  Saurau  and  Goess.  At  Verona  I  shall  decide  ac- 
cording to  the  weather  on  the  route  by  Bozen  or  by 
Ponteba ;  I  shall  then  also  be  able  to  tell  you  the  pre- 
cise day  of  my  arrival,  which  will  not  be  before  the 
11th  or  later  than  the  12tli  September. 

My  visit  here  has  had  the  best  results  for  all  the 
affairs  which  brought  me  to  Italy,  and  for  some  which 
I  had  not  expected,  but  which  came  before  me  during 
my  visit,  I  regret  nothing  in  my  involuntary  change  of 
plan,  happy  as  it  is  in  its  results.  I  am  leaving  a  httle 
country  which  is  in  every  way  very  interesting,  and 
from  which  I  carry  away  a  remembrance  very  dear  to 
my  heart.  I  have  had  the  happiness  of  repairing  many 
faults  and  follies,  and  I  have  prevented  new  ones  being 
committed  in  a  time  more  or  less  remote,  which  is  very 
important  for  a  country  about  to  pass  under  another 
Government.  I  am  more  and  more  convinced  that  one 
only  does  well  what  one  does  oneself,  and  that  one 
ought  to  be  everywhere  to  do  well. 

My  visitors  have  dispersed  into  all  parts  of  Europe. 
Golowkin  started  this  morning  for  his  retreat  in  Switzer- 
land. Wallmoden  returned  here  from  Leo-horn 
yesterday.     He  will  start  to-morrow  for  Florence,  with 

E  2 


62      EXTRACTS   FROM  METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

the  intention  of  reviewing  the  troops  which  marched 
through  that  place  from  Naples.  Kaunitz  will  accom- 
pany me  to  the  Gulf,  and  we  shall  separate  at  Lucca 
the  day  after  to-morrow. 

Here  you  have  an  exact  summary  of  all  my  doings 
and  all  my  movements.  I  leave  these  places  with  real 
regret,  but  I  look  forward  to  seeing  you  again  with 
infinitely  more  pleasure,  so  that  the  balance  is  alto- 
gether in  my  favour.  One  must  see  this  country  to 
know  that  such  a  country  exists,  and  this  knowledge  is 
a  great  consolation. 


53 


CONCLUSION  OF  THE  COURSE  OF  BATHS,  ETC.,  IN 

LUCCA. 

234.  Metternich  to  the  Emperor  Francis,  Lucca,  August  29,  1817. 

234.  The  course  of  waters  and  baths  which  have 
had  so  beneficial  an  effect  on  my  health  being  now 
quite  concluded,  I  shall  to-morrow  commence  my 
journey  back  to  Vienna. 

My  first  business  after  my  return  will  be  to  give 
your  Majesty  an  account  of  my  travels  in  Italy,  to 
Eome,  Naples,  Florence,  and  Lucca  (No.  245).  I  am 
glad  to  think  that  I  have  lost  neither  time  nor  oppor- 
tunity of  furthering  your  Majesty's  service.  It  only 
remains  for  me  to-day  to  offer  your  Majesty  my  most 
respectful  thanks  for  so  graciously  permitting  me  to 
stay  here  and  devote  four  whole  weeks  to  my  health, 
which  has  again  given  me  strength  to  serve  your  Majesty 
with  the  same  feehngs  of  personal  devotion  your  Ma- 
jesty has  long  known  me  to  possess. 

Mettekivich. 

I  see  with  pleasure  that  the  baths  of  Lucca  have 
been  of  service  to  you,  and  take  note  of  the  other  infor- 
mation. 

FRAJiCIS. 
Fogaraa,  September  12, 1817. 


54 


VISIT  TO   THE  COURTS  OF  MODENA   AND 

PARMA. 

Extracts  from  Metternicli's  private  Letters  to  his  Family,  from 
September  2  to  September  9,  1817. 

235.  From  Modena— Massa  and  Carrara — differences  of  climate.     236.  From 
Mantua— visit  to  Marie  Louise  at  Parma.     237.  From  Verona. 

Metternich  to  his  Wife,  Modena,  September  2. 

235.  I  liave  arrived  here,  my  dear,  after  the  most 
charming  journey  possible.  As  I  told  you,  I  left  the 
baths  of  Lucca  on  the  morning  of  the  30th.  I  arrived 
at  Massa  the  same  day  at  two  o'clock.  After  resting 
for  half  an  hour,  I  went  to  Carrara,  and  I  have  returned 
to  sleep  at  Massa. 

The  road  from  Lucca  to  Massa  is  charming.  On 
reaching  the  summit  of  the  high  mountains  wdiich  form 
the  basin  of  Lucca,  a  magnificent  plain  opens  to  view 
of  from  three  to  four  leagues  in  extent,  and  the  immense 
reach  of  coast  along  the  Mediterranean.  The  port  of 
Viareggio  hes  at  one's  feet,  and  when  it  is  clear  Corsica 
can  be  seen  directly  opposite.  The  weather  was  superb. 
Massa  is  a  small  but  very  well  built  town ;  the  chdteau 
is  large  and  very  well  arranged.  From  my  bed  I  have 
a  boundless  prospect.  The  road  from  Massa  to  Car- 
rara is  newly  made;  it  is  lovely,  and  you  leave  the 
most  beautiful  country  to  find  yourself  plunged  in  a 
wild  valley  not  less  beautiful  because  the  scenery  is  of 
a  different  kind.     You  arrive  at  Carrara,  and  if  you  did 


CARRARA  AND  MODENA.  55 

not  know  where  you  were,  you  would  find  it  out  from 
every  stone  of  the  pavement.  The  worst  stone  of  tlie 
country  is  a  beautiful  marble.  The  poor  people's 
houses  are  of  grey  or  white  veined  marble.  The 
inhabitants  are,  for  the  most  part,  comfortably  off,  for 
everyone  can  find  employment  in  the  numberless 
workshops  connected  with  sculpture.  There  are  at 
least  thirty  studios,  large  and  small,  in  which  may  be 
seen  everything  that  one  can  desire.  The  best  Roman 
sculptors  have  their  statues  made  at  Carrara;  they  choose 
a  block,  put  it  in  hand,  and  finish  it  afterwards  in  their 
studios  at  Rome.  Others  come  themselves  to  live  for 
several  months  at  the  fountain-head  for  marble.  I 
found  there  Ranch  and  Tieck,  two  Prussians  of  great 
talent,  who  make  the  most  beautiful  things  for  the 
King.  Among  other  things,  Ranch  is  now  making  a 
copy  of  the  Queen's  mausoleum.  After  having  seen 
everything,  I  returned  to  Massa.  The  next  day,  at  six, 
I  started  for  Lerici.  The  view,  when  you  arrive  at  the 
top  of  the  mountains,  and  perceive  the  Gulf  of  Spezzia 
quite  under  your  feet,  is  of  the  greatest  beauty.  I  em- 
barked at  Lerici,  and  crossed  the  Gulf  as  far  as  Porto- 
Venere  ;  from  thence  I  went  round  the  Gulf  itself,  in 
order  to  see  it  thoroughly,  and  returned  to  Massa  at 
four  o'clock.  I  dined  there  and  slept  at  Lucca.  Yes- 
terday I  slept  at  a  cursed  place  called  Paulo,  in  the 
Apennines,  where  the  Archduke  had  the  kindness  to 
send  me  a  cook  and  attendants,  which  assuredly  were 
not  unnecessary.  I  arrived  here  this  morning  at  eleven, 
and  have  spent  the  day  in  seeing  the  few  curiosities 
Modena  has  to  offer. 

One  thing  which  strikes  me  is  the  extreme  difference 
of  the  climate  of  Tuscany  from  that  on  this  side  of  the 
Apennines.     I  have  often   been  told  that  Italy  proper 


56      EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

commences  on  the  south  of  that  chain  of  mountains, 
and  this  is  quite  true.  I  here  find  Lombardy  and 
Venetia  again,  while  Tuscany  is  quite  a  contrast.  The 
plants  peculiar  to  the  south  are  not  found  here.  The 
fact  is  most  striking  at  Lucca,  and  above  all  at  Massa. 
Lucca  is  farther  south  than  Tuscany,  and  Massa  is 
like  Sicily.  The  coast  being  narrow  and  the  moun- 
tains acting  as  reflectors,  it  never  freezes,  nor  is  there 
even  snow  at  Massa.  Oranges  grow  abundantly  in  the 
open  fields,  and  all  succulent  plants  can  be  acchma- 
tised. 

236.  Mantua,  September  5. — I  arrived  here  this 
evening  at  nine,  and  I  intend  to  leave  again  to-morrow 
at  midday,  and  sleep  at  Verona,  where  the  Governors  of 
Milan  and  Venice  are  expecting  me. 

I  stayed  nearly  two  days  at  Parma — that  is  to  say, 
I  arrived  there  on  the  third  at  seven  in  the  evening, 
and  I  left  to-day  at  noon  for  Colorno,  where  the  Arch- 
duchess gave  me  a  dinner.  Her  establishment  could 
not  be  more  comfortable  ;  her  Court  is  marvellously 
arranged,  and  there  is  neither  too  much  nor  too  little 
of  anything.  Parma  in  itself  contains  a  number  of  ob- 
jects of  interest.  This  town  was  the  cradle  of  Correggio. 
The  halls  and  walls  are  covered  with  his  works  ;  he  is 
for  Parma  what  Giulio  Ptomano  is  for  Mantua.  Nothing 
can  be  imagined  more  enchanting  than  what  he  has 
bequeathed  to  an  age  unhappy  that  it  cannot  imitate 
him,  but  happy  to  be  able  to  admire  him. 

237.  Verona,  September  6, 10  o'clock  in  the  Evening. — 
This  morning  I  have  seen  all  there  is  to  see  at  Mantua,  and 
much  even  that  is  not  Avorth  taking  the  trouble  to  see.  I 
arrived  here  at  three  o'clock.  At  Verona  I  have  been 
to  see  all  that  my  unfortunate  eye  prevented  me  from 
seeing  in  1816,  and  I  shall  leave  in  an  hour  with  the 


EETUIJNS   TO    VIENNA.  57 

intention  of  staying  to-morrow  mglit  at  Bozen,  wliicli 
is  twelve  posts  from  this. 

I  write  by  the  present  courier  to  Pepi  *  at  IQagen- 
furt,  where  I  shall  be  on  the  10th.  You  will  receive 
news  of  me  from  that  town  by  the  courier  wlio  orders 
my  horses,  and  who  will  arrive  at  least  fifteen  or  six- 
teen hours  before  me. 

I  hope  I  shall  find  you  all  in  good  health.  I  am 
most  anxious  about  the  pauvre  petite,f  but  I  am  far 
from  flattering  myself  that  I  shall  find  her  convalescent. 
May  I  but  find  her  better  ! 

Adieu !  I  have  still  to  get  rid  of  Saurau,  Goess, 
and  at  least  twenty  people  who  are  in  my  antechamber. 
My  travels  have  ceased  to  be  a  pleasure.  I  am  always 
tormented  with  honours,  and  consequently  by  annoy- 
ances of  every  description. 

•  Count  Joseph  Esterbazy,  subsequently  Metternicli's  son-in-law. 
t  Princess  Hermine,  Metternich's  daughter,  who  still  survives. 


58 


THE  EXISTENCE  OF  SECTS  IN  CENTRAL  EUROPE. 

238.  Metternicli  to  Lebzeltern  at  Petersburg,  Florence,  June  28,  1817. 

238.  The  progress  of  sects  which  are  beginning 
to  threaten  the  peace  of  many  countries,  especially  in 
Central  Europe,  is  an  object  worthy  to  occupy  the 
attention  of  Cabinets. 

The  human  mind  generally  revels  in  extremes.  A 
period  of  irreligion,  a  period  in  which  pretended  philo- 
sophers and  their  false  doctrines  have  tried  to  over- 
turn all  which  human  wisdom  has  recognised  as  inti- 
mately connected  with  the  eternal  principles  of  morality, 
has  been  necessarily  followed  by  an  epoch  of  moral 
and  religious  reaction.  Now,  every  kind  of  reaction  is 
false  and  unjust,  and  it  is  only  given  to  wise  and  con- 
sequently strong  men  to  be  neither  the  dupes  of  false 
philosophers  nor  the  sport  of  false  religions.  If  any 
one  doubted  the  intimate  connection  which  exists  be- 
tween the  moral  and  material  world,  proofs  would  be 
found  in  the  march  and  progress  of  certain  maladies 
of  the  mind,  which  present  all  the  sjnnptoms  of  true 
epidemics.  Por  some  time  the  Methodists  have  made 
great  progress  in  England  and  America  ;  and  this  sect, 
by  following  the  track  of  all  the  others,  is  now  beginning 
to  extend  its  proselytism  to  other  parts  of  Europe. 
There  are  at  the  present  moment,  principally  in  Upper 
Germany  and  Switzerland,  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
individuals  morally  affected  by  mysticism.  The  king- 
dom of  Wurtemberg,  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Baden,  con- 


METTERNICH   TO   LEBZELTERN.  59 

tain  an  entire  population,  fanatical  to  the  point  of 
abandoning  all  the  comforts  of  this  world  to  seek  exist- 
ence and  happiness  in  the  holy  places  which  they 
regard  as  the  proper  preparation  for  a  future  life. 
There  are  in  Swabia  whole  families  who  practise  the 
greatest  self-denial,  young  men  who  will  do  nothing  un- 
less they  are  allowed  to  emigrate  either  to  Palestine  or 
to  some  desert  place,  where,  withdraMdng  from  all 
society,  they  can  constitute  among  themselves  a  theo- 
cratic government  more  or  less  similar  to  that  of  the 
Jews  after  their  departure  from  Egypt.  Some  of  these 
sects  have  an  exclusively  moral  and  religious  object. 
Others  betray  decided  tendencies  towards  a  political 
malady,  and  as  Jacobinism,  even  extreme  as  it  is,  still 
admits  of  further  extremes,  many  of  these  sects  wish 
to  found  their  new  society  on  the  principles  of  the 
agrarian  law. 

You  will  have  heard.  Sir,  of  the  extraordinary 
errors  into  which  the  so-called  Poeschlianer  in  Upper 
Austria  have  fallen.  A  ramification  of  this  same  sect 
has  been  discovered  in  the  country  of  Wurzburg,  and 
young  men,  and  especially  young  women,  have  given 
themselves  up  to  the  most  frightful  torments,  and  even 
to  death,  in  order  to  render  themselves  worthy  of  Para- 
dise. In  Swabia  there  are  a  number  of  Independents, 
a  rehgious  and  political  sect,  who  dream  only  of  an 
agrarian  law,  theocrats  who  wish  for  the  law  of  Moses, 
and  many  other  associations,  each  one  more  fanatical 
than  the  other. 

You  have  doubtless  seen  in  the  Swiss  newspapers, 
and  especially  in  that  of  Aarau,  articles  which  the 
Governments  have  been  forced  to  pubhsh  against  the 
predications  of  Madame  de  Kriidener  ;  the  tendency 
of  this  woman  is  more  dangerous  than  all  the  others, 


60  SECTS  IN  CENTRAL  EUROPE. 

because  her  predications  are  all  intended  to  excite  the 
indigent  classes  against  the  proprietors.  She  invites 
the  poor  to  put  themselves  in  the  place  of  the  rich, 
and  her  fanaticism  no  doubt  prevents  her  from  per- 
ceiving that  she  thus  establishes  the  most  vicious  circle 
possible,  as  she  would,  in  fact,  thus  give  to  people 
formerly  rich  but  now  poor,  the  undoubted  right  of 
ameliorating  their  condition  in  their  turn,  by  putting 
themselves  again  in  the  place  of  those  who  had  dispos- 
sessed them. 

It  is,  doubtless,  worthy  of  the  wisdom  of  the  great 
Powers  to  take  into   consideration  an  evil  which  it  is 
possible,  and  perhaps  even  easy,  to  stifle  in  its  begin- 
ning, but  which  can  only  gain  in  intensity  in  propor- 
tion as  it  spreads.     The  Courts  must  not  forget  that 
there  exist  in  Europe  disturbers  of  the  public  repose, 
who  are  deceived  in  all  their  calculations  by  a  firm  and 
continued  progress,  and  the  just  and  liberal  principles 
of  the  great  monarchs  who  have  saved  Europe.     These 
men,  desperate,  and  forced  from  their  last  intrench- 
ments,  regard  as  their   own  property  all  questions  of 
disorder  whatever,  and  it  is  perhaps  reserved  for  us  to 
see  the  editors  of  the  '  Nainjaune  '  and  the '  Vrai  Liberal ' 
preach  against  the  vanities   of  this  world,   and  to  see 
Carnot  and  Barere  make  themselves  the  apostles  of  the 
New  Jerusalem.     This  subject  deserves  the  most  serious 
attention  ;  it  is  connected  with  the  well-being  of  society 
and   the   tranquillity    of    States  more  closely   than  is 
supposed,  and  the  great  Courts  should  not  be  slow  to 
take    into    consideration    the    means    of  checking    the 
designs  of  these  fomenters  of  a  new  kind  of  revolution. 
I  beg  you.  Sir,  to  sound  the  Eussian  Cabinet  on 
this  subject,  and  to  inform  us  of  its  ideas.     The  Courts 
will    easily  find    means  within   their  reach,  whenever 


METTERNICH   TO   LEBZELTERN.  61 

tliey  come  to  an  understanding  with  eacli  otlier  about 
the  matter,  and  it  belongs  doubtless  to  the  first 
Powers  of  Europe  to  confine  their  views  to  measures 
beyond  the  reach  of  the  Governments  of  small  States, 
who  can  only  expel  a  dangerous  individual  from  so 
small  a  territory,  and  who,  if  they  endeavour  to  save 
their  own  people  from  the  contagion,  can  only  pass  it 
on  to  their  neighbours. 


62 


THE  BIBLE  SOCIETIES  AND   THE  EMPEROR 

ALEXANDER. 

239.  Metternich  to  the  Emperor  Francis,  Lucca,  August  29,  1817. 

239.  I  have  to-day  the  honour  to  lay  before  your 
Majesty  a  matter  perfectly  new  to  diplomacy. 

Some  days  ago  a  courier  arrived  from  the  Russian 
Cabinet,  whom  I  at  first  supposed  to  have  been  en- 
trusted with  some  important  communications.  The 
value  of  these  communications  your  Majesty  will  see 
from  the  copy  I  enclose  of  Count  Nesselrode's  letter 
(No.  240) ;  the  second  enclosure  is  my  answer  to  the 
same  (No.  241).  Your  Majesty  has  no  doubt  been  long 
convinced  that  the  Emperor  Alexander  can  never  keep 
to  the  ordinary  ways  of  men.  In  1815  he  abandoned 
pure  Jacobinism,  but  only  to  throw  himself  into  mysti- 
cism ;  his  tendencies  being  always  revolutionary,  so 
also  are  his  rehgious  feelings,  and  therefore  he  could 
not  avoid  assuming  the  protectorate  of  Bible  Societies. 

I  pray  your  Majesty  to  regard  my  answer  to  Count 
Nesselrode  as  meant  exclusively  for  the  Emperor 
Alexander,  and  so  to  judge  it.  If  I  have  entered  into 
many  special  details,  I  did  this  to  put  an  end,  at  the  very 
commencement,  to  correspondence  between  the  two 
Cabinets  upon  Biblical  subjects  and  religious  police 
measures.  The  Emperor  Alexander  will  assuredly  cease 
to  love  and  care  for  such  narrow-minded  Christians, 
when  I,  as  your  Majesty's  Minister,  represent  your 
Majesty's  views. 


NESSELRODE   TO   METTEENICH.  63 

I  wish  to  leave  no  doubt  in  his  mind  that  his  notions 
of  rehgious  enhghtenment  are  not  those  of  your 
Majesty,  and  that  consequently  such  questions  do  not 
admit  so  easily  of  amelioration.  It  is  very  hard  to  de- 
termine to  what  extent  this  madness  will  reach.  In  all 
the  ideas  of  the  Emperor  Alexander,  the  design  of 
proselytising  stands  first ;  with  this  object  he  wins 
over  Jacobins  in  Italy  and  sects  in  Europe.  Now  '  the 
rights  of  man'  give  place  to  'Bible  reading.'  It  only 
remains  for  us  quietly  yet  curiously  to  see  what  will 
be  the  next  answer  to  my  last  despatch  to  Lebzeltern 
(No.  238),  with  respect  to  the  dangers  of  mysticism 
and  the  common  action  of  the  Cabinets  against  its  miser- 
able results.  -,r 

Metternich. 

Nesselrode  to  Metternich,  July,  1817. 

240.  Count  de  Stackelberg  has  informed  us,  my 
dear  Prince,  of  your  opinion  with  regard  to  the  inter- 
view of  the  Sovereigns.  His  despatch  crossed  ours, 
and  at  this  moment  you  doubtless  know  what  we  think 
on  this  point.  You  will  have  seen  that  we  are  agreed 
as  to  the  utility  and  object  of  this  interview.  I  may 
add  to-day  that  we  are  not  less  so  as  to  the  locality  of 
the  conference,  as  well  as  to  the  indispensable  necessity 
of  inviting  to  it  one  of  the  most  noted  members  of  the 
French  Ministry,  and  M.  de  Kichelieu  in  preference  to 
any  other.  The  Emperor  is  entirely  of  your  opinion, 
that  no  capital  or  even  residence  would  be  convenient 
or  useful  for  the  conduct  of  the  affairs  which  must 
be  treated  of  there,  and  this  conviction  applies  even 
more  to  small  than  to  great  capitals.  It  seems  to  him, 
therefore,  that  Aix-la-Chapblle  or  Mannheim  would 
answer  every  purpose,  and  his  Imperial  Majesty  will  go 


64  BIBLE   SOCIETIES. 

witli  pleasure  in  the  course  of  next  year  to  wliichever 
of  the  two  places  is  chosen.  Before  the  meeting,  but 
not  till  within  a  short  time  of  it,  the  Emperor  will  pro- 
pose an  unimportant  change.  Instead  of  fixing  on  the 
month  of  June  for  the  interview,  he  is  anxious  that  il 
should  not  take  place  till  some  months  later,  for  aftei 
the  different  arrangements  his  Majesty  has  made,  and 
some  necessary  journeys  into  the  interior  of  Eussia,  it 
would  be  scarcely  possible  for  him  to  arrive  in  either  of 
the  places  above  mentioned  before  September  10  of  our 
style.  I  do  not  think,  Prince,  that  this  delay  can  present 
the  least  inconvenience,  considering  that  even  on  Novem- 
ber 14,  when  the  third  year  of  occupation  expires,  we 
shall  still  have  two  months  to  discuss  and  decide  this 
important  business. 

The  uniformity  which  has  characterised  the  opinions 
put  forth  by  our  Cabinets  on  the  subject  of  France  pro- 
mises happily  for  the  discussions  which  will  take  place 
on  this  subject.  That  being  decided,  the  other  ques- 
tions which  may  be  mooted  at  this  meeting  of  Sover- 
eigns and  Ministers  would  not  seem  to  be  of  a  nature 
to  present  insurmountable  difficulties.  All  leads  one  to 
hope  that  it  will  essentially  contribute  still  further  to 
consolidate  the  happy  agreement  which  subsists  between 
the  principal  Powers  of  Europe.  The  Emperor  is  so 
convinced  of  the  beneficial  effect  of  this  grand  har- 
mony of  principles  among  the  four  Courts  who  have 
laid  down  the  bases  of  the  general  association,  that  he 
feels  it  a  matter  of  regret  when,  even  in  questions 
which  are  not  of  general  interest,  he  sees  that  parti 
cular  circumstances  have  provoked,  in  the  States  of  one 
of  the  four  sovereigns,  measures  which  do  not  entirely 
correspond  to  the  views  of  the  others.  Thus,  his 
Majesty  has  been  grieved  that  you  have  not  allowed  the 


METTERNICH   TO   NESSELRODE.  65 

Bible  Society  to  exist  among  you,  although  it  is  formed 
by  Protestants,  and  notwithstanding  certain  considera- 
tions, which  his  Majesty  respects  as  much  as  he  regrets, 
have  obhged  you  to  abolish  so  beneficial  an  institution, 
and  above  all  one  so  agreeable  to  the  tolerant  princi- 
ples of  your  august  master.  I  need  not  tell  you,  my 
dear  Prince,  how  much  his  Majesty  looks  forward  to 
the  time  he  will  pass  with  the  Emperor  Francis,  and  if 
the  interview  is  of  real  utility  as  far  as  business  is  con- 
cerned, it  will  be  not  the  less  agreeable  to  the  Emperor 
to  enjoy  the  consolations  of  the  most  cordial  and  un- 
alterable friendship. 

From  what  Count  de  Stackelbersf  tells  us,  I  conclude 
you  are  still  in  Italy,  and  I  have  charged  the  courier  to 
join  you  there.  I  hope  this  journey  will  brmg  you  all 
the  pleasure  you  hoped  from  it.  You  have  my  best 
wishes.     Allow  me.  Prince,  to  join,  &c.  &c. 


Metternich  to  Nesselrode,  Lucca,  August  20,  1817. 

(Supplement  to  No.  239.) 

241.  Your  courier,  my  dear  Count,  joined  me  here 
on  August  18,  in  a  corner  altogether  out  of  the  world, 
where  I  am  taking  care  of  my  health,  of  which  for  some 
years  it  has  had  much  need.  I  am  sure  now  that  I 
have  done  right  to  take  the  Lucca  waters,  as  I  cannot 
take  those  of  Carlsbad.  I  am  very  well,  and  I  regret 
not  having  more  than  ten  or  twelve  days  longer  to  re- 
main in  a  charming  retreat  which  unites  all  that  can  be 
desired  in  the  way  of  health  and  repose.  Imagine  to 
yourself  the  most  beautiful  parts  of  Switzerland  and 
Styria  under  the  best  Itahan  climate  ;  perfect  waters, 
not    so    strong,   but    very    much    resembhng   those    of 

VOL.  III.  F 


66  BIBLE   SOCIETIES. 

Carlsbad ;  good  and  pleasant  society,  a  charming  resi- 
dence, which  Madame  Elisa  Bacciochi  certainly  did  not 
prepare  for  me,  and  you  may  conceive  how  I  shall  soon 
be  regretting  the  pleasures  of  the  past. 

The  despatch  which  I  have  addressed  to  Lebzeltern 
will  have  proved  to  you,  my  dear  Count,  that  our  views 
coincide  with  those  of  your  august  master  concerning 
the  interview  of  1818.  In  reply,  I  may  say  that  the 
Emperor  Francis  will  repair  to  Aix-la-Chapelle,  or  to 
Mannheim,  whichever  is  most  convenient  to  the  Em- 
peror Alexander.  The  result  of  the  conference  will  be 
like  all  those  which  have  preceded  it,  the  Sovereigns 
and  the  Cabinets  will  part  once  more  with  perfect  har- 
mony of  views  and  wishes. 

I  am  pleased,  my  dear  Count,  to  rectify  an  error 
which  I  find  in  your  letter.  We  have  never  abohshed 
a  Bible  Society  among  us,  for  one  never  existed.  I 
beheve,  however,  that  I  am  in  a  position  to  assure  you 
that  the  Emperor  will  never  allow  the  establishment  of 
one,  and  the  confidence  you  have  in  me  induces  me  to 
acquaint  you  with  his  Majesty's  reasons. 

I  begin  by  referring  to  our  position  with  regard  to 
the  Holy  See — that  is  to  say,  by  assuring  you  that  no 
Catholic  Power  is  more  independent  than  we  are  of  all 
direct  submission  to  the  Court  of  Rome.  The  heir  of 
so  many  Emperors  of  Germany,  and  the  nephew  of 
Joseph  11. ,  knows  what  is  due  to  God  and  his  crown. 
Our  ecclesiastical  departments  perhaps  even  push  their 
dogmas  on  the  rights  of  the  Crown  too  far,  but  if  so, 
the  excess  is  assuredly  not  in  favour  of  the  Court  of 
Rome. 

The  CathoUc  Church  does  not  encourage  the  uni- 
versal reading  of  the  Bible,  and  it  acts  in  this  respect 
like  a  father,  placed  above  the  passions  and  consequently 


BIBLE   SOCIETIES.  67 

the  storms  of  life.  The  Church  not  only  allows  but 
recommends  the  reading  of  the  Sacred  Books  to  men 
who  are  enlightened,  calm,  capable  of  judging  the  ques- 
tion. She  does  not  encourage  the  reading  of  mystical 
books,  or  of  passages  full  of  crimes  and  obscenities 
which  the  Book  of  Books  contains  only  too  often  in  his- 
tories simple  like  the  first  ages,  and  like  all  that  is  true. 
For  myself,  I  think  the  Church  is  right,  and  I  judge  by 
the  effect  which  the  reading  of  the  Bible  has  on  me  at 
the  age  of  forty,  so  different  from  that  which  the  same 
reading  produced  on  me  at  the  age  of  fifteen  and  twenty. 
I  can  only  compare  this  difference  with  that  of  the  im- 
pressions produced  at  difierent  periods  of  life  by  the 
reading  of  the  classics,  the  contemplation  of  the  beauties 
of  nature,  or  the  monuments  of  art. 

I  read  every  day  one  or  two  chapters  of  the  Bible : 
I  discover  new  beauties  daily,  and  I  prostrate  myself 
before  this  admirable  book  ;  while  at  the  age  of  twenty 
I  found  it  difficult  not  to  think  the  family  of  Lot  un- 
worthy to  be  saved ;  Noah  unworthy  to  have  lived ; 
Saul  a  great  criminal,  and  David  a  terrible  man.  At 
twenty,  I  tried  to  understand  the  Apocalypse;  now  I 
am  sure  that  I  never  shall  understand  it.  At  the  age 
of  twenty  a  deep  and  long-continued  research  in  the 
Holy  Books  made  me  an  Atheist  after  the  fashion  of 
Alembert  and  Lalande,  or  a  Christian  after  that  of 
Chateaubriand  ;  now  I  believe,  and  do  not  criticise.  I 
have  read  too  much,  and  seen  too  much,  not  to  know 
that  reading  is  not  necessarily  understanding  :  that  it 
would  be  too  bold  in  me  to  condemn  what  through 
ignorance,  or  insufficiency  of  knowledge,  I  comprehend 
so  imperfectly.  In  a  word,  I  l)elieve,  and  dispute  no 
longer.  Accustomed  to  occupy  myself  with  great  moral 
<piestions,  what  have  I  not  accomplished  or  allowed  to 

P2 


68  BIBLE   SOCIETIES. 

be  wrought  out  by  the  simple  course  of  nature,  before 
arriving  at  the  point  where  the  Pope  and  my  Cure  beg 
me  to  accept  from  them  the  most  portable  edition  of 
the  Bible  ?  Is  it  bold  in  me  to  take  for  certain  that,  of 
a  thousand  individuals  chosen  from  the  milhons  of  men 
of  which  the  people  are  composed,  there  will  be  found, 
owing  to  their  intellectual  faculties,  their  education,  or 
their  age,  very  few  who  have  arrived  at  the  point  where 
I  find  myself? 

Now,  my  dear  Count,  in  this  very  simple  reasoning, 
which  is  also  the  Emperor's,  we  find  the  motive  of  his 
Majesty's  constant  opposition  to  the  introduction  of 
Bible  Societies,  and  in  this  matter  his  ideas  coincide 
with  those  of  the  Holy  Father. 

There  is  another  consideration  which  bears  upon 
this  at  the  present  moment,  and  which  seems  no  less 
strong  than  the  reasons  above  set  forth.  The  world 
just  now  is  sick  of  a  peculiar  malady,  which  will  pass 
away  like  all  other  epidemics  ;  this  malady  is  called 
mysticism.  I  have  recently  addressed  to  Lebzeltern  a 
long  despatch  on  this  subject  (No.  238),  which  he  has 
probably  shown  to  you.  I  assure  you  that  at  the  present 
day  it  would  be  easier  to  renew  successfully  the  sermons 
of  Peter  tlie  Hermit,  than  to  make  individuals  attacked 
with  this  malady  understand  tliat  God  desires  to  be 
served  otherwise  than  by  the  spilling  of  blood,  and  that 
men  are  not  to  be  judges  of  tlieir  neighbour's  con- 
science. See  what  is  passing  in  Germany ;  see  the 
success  of  the  preaching  of  Madame  de  Kriidener, 
whom  you  have  very  wisely  sent  back  to  Eussia,  and 
of  so  many  other  unfortunates  who  understand  the 
Sacred  Books  in  their  own  fashion,  which,  be  sure,  is 
not  that  of  God  and  the  Saviour. 

It  is  commonly  believed  tluxt  tlie  Pope  does  not  wish 


BIBLE   SOCIETIES.  69 

Catholics  to  read  the  Bible,  with  the  view  of  preventin^^ 
their  being  enlightened.  It  is  possible,  and  I  admit  that 
Gregory  VII.  and  Alexander  VI.  may  have  taken  this 
into  account ;  but  that  was  not  the  reason  of  the  ancient 
practice  of  the  Church  and  the  moral  precepts  of  the 
Councils.  A  Pope  may  sometimes  fear  tlie  light,  but 
it  is  permitted  even  to  the  wisdom  of  the  Church  to 
fear  the  fire :  if  a  Pope  does  not  wish  the  faithful  en- 
Hffhtened,  the  Church  does  not  wish  them  to  be  dazzled. 
The  Pope  is  wrong,  but  the  Church  is  right,  and  tlie 
Emperor  Francis  takes  in  this  matter  the  side  of  the 
Church,  while  at  the  same  time  he  despises  and  rejects 
all  prejudice. 

You  see,  my  dear  Count,  that  I  am  writing  to  you 
from  a  retired  place,  where  I  have  plenty  of  leisure  to 
write,  and  also  to  forget  that  you  will  have  scarcely 
time  to  read  my  letter.  Throwing  myself  at  the  feet  of 
the  Emperor,  I  beg  you  to  rectify  the  mistake  he  has 
made  when  he  supposed  that  any  Bible  Society  what- 
ever has  been  suppressed  among  us. 

For  the  rest,  no  transaction  in  the  kingdom  is  more 
free  than  the  reading  of  the  Bible  according  to  all  the 
different  rites.  You  may  find  thousands  of  copies  m 
all  the  libraries :  it  is  bought,  and  extracts  carefully 
chosen  are  distributed  in  the  schools.  The  Protestants 
in  Austria  read  it,  as  everywhere  else,  in  their  own  lan- 
guage and  according  to  their  own  version.  For  myself, 
I  read  only  Luther's  translation,  the  best  which  has  ever 
been  made  in  any  country,  and  in  a  living  language. 

Adieu  !  I  need  not  tell  you  how  happy  I  am  to 
think  that  there  is  no  longer  any  such  thing  as  distance 
in  Europe,  thanks  to  the  resolution  taken  by  the  sove- 
reigns of  meeting  in  person  at  places  where  they  tliink 
they  can  act   together   for    the    common  good.     This 


70  BIBLE   SOCIETIES. 

great  and  noble  brotherhood  is  of  far  more  value  than 
all  the  treaties,  and  will  ensure  for  a  considerable  time 
what  the  good  Abbe  de  St.  Pierre  wished  to  estabhsh 
for  ever.     Receive,  &c. 

P.S. — IbeUeve  I  said  in  my  last  despatch  to  Lebzel- 
tern  on  the  subject  of  the  interview  of  1818,  that  the 
Emperor  my  august  master  would  arrange  the  meeting 
to  suit  the  convenience  of  his  Majesty  the  Emperor 
Alexander.  If  I  have  not  said  it,  1  do  so  now,  and  I 
hasten  to  inform  his  Imperial  Majesty  of  the  project  of 
September  10. 


71 


INTENTIONS  OF  NAPLES  WITH  REGARD  TO  THE 
PRINCIPALITIES  OF  BENEVENTO  AND  PONTE- 
CORVO. 

242.  Metternich  to  the  Emperor  Francis,  Lucca,  August  17,  1817, 

242.  The  Court  of  Naples  seems  to  intend  to 
improve  tlie  occasion  of  the  death  of  the  Holy  Father  to 
lay  violent  hands  on  Benevento  and  Pontecorvo,  and  it 
appears  that  this  was  one  of  the  principal  reasons  for 
the  removal  of  your  Majesty's  army  corps  from  the 
kingdom.  The  Neapohtan  Ministry  has,  in  consequence 
of  this  idea,  engaged  in  an  intrigue  in  Petersburg,  and 
even  ventured  to  make  a  similar  attempt  in  England. 
The  first  I  discovered  in  a  secret  manner  ;  the  other 
was  told  in  confidence  by  Herr  Aroust  to  our  ambas- 
sador. I  undertake  -to  say  that  these  designs  shall  not 
succeed. 

The  very  first  notion,  the  groundwork  of  modern 
politics  is  and  must  be  peace,  and  the  fundamental 
idea  of  peace  is  the  security  of  property.  If  the  first 
Powers  of  Europe  depart  from  this  principle.  States 
which  are  small  and  scarcely  independent  must  follow 
them,  wilhngly  or  unwilhngly. 

Wliether  Benevento  and  Pontecorvo  shall  belong  to 
the  King  of  Naples  or  to  the  Eoman  See  is  immaterial ; 
but  that  Naples,  either  by  intrigue  or  force,  should  in 
1817  give  the  first  example  of  an  alteration  of  posses- 
sions settled  by  the  act  of  Congress — this  is  a  most 
important  question. 


72  NEAPOLITAN   INTRIGUES. 

I  will  myself  give  your  Majesty  an  account  of  the 
whole  position  of  affairs,  and  the  explanations  of  the 
Cabinets,  so  soon  as  they  are  given.  It  is  not  possible 
to  wait  for  your  Majesty's  commands,  therefore  I  pro- 
ceed exactly  in  the  strictest  sense  of  the  principles 
above  set  forth,  because  I  know  they  are  those  of  your 
Majesty. 

The  Neapolitan  intrigue  gives  me  a  good  opportunity 
of  making  all  the  Courts  aware  of  your  Majesty's  prin- 
ciples, and  the  nature  of  the  Imperial  pohtics.  If 
heaven  has,  in  the  last  few  years,  richly  blessed  the 
efforts  of  Austria,  the  world  has  to  thank  for  this  hap- 
piness the  upright  and  invariable  character  of  her 
pohcy.  All  that  may  be  attempted  by  others  against 
it  will  be  shipwrecked.  I  beg  your  Majesty  to  accept 
this  consolation  from  my  hand  at  the  moment  of  part- 
ing, while  the  consciousness  that  I  have  never  misled 
your  Imperial  Majesty  is  the  highest  reward  I  can 
receive. 

One  new  and  fortunate  turn  in  great  political  affairs 
is  the  vigilance,  almost  amounting  to  tension,  of  Eng- 
land against  the  views  of  the  Eussian  Emperor.  The 
conduct  of  the  latter,  and  his  interference  in  the 
internal  affairs  of  Spain  have  brought  about  this  ad- 
vantage. England,  France,  and  Prussia  draw  closer  to 
us,  and  we  have  beaten  Eussia  and  Spain  out  of  the 
field  by  the  Parmesan  victory.  I  will  very  shortly 
despatch  a  courier  to  your  Majesty  with  information  on 
these  matters.  Your  Majesty  is  at  the  present  time  the 
only  preserver  of  peace  in  Europe  ;  and  not  peace 
merely,  but  all  forms  of  it  lie  in  your  Majesty's  hands. 

IVIetteknich. 

God  grant  that  I  may  be  able  to  secure  peace  in 


NEAPOLITAN   INTRIGUES.  73 

Europe  during  my  own  life  and,  if  possible,  to  my 
successors.  Your  greatest  pride  and  consolation  must 
surely  be  to  have  conducted  me  to  the  position  in  which 
things  now  are. 

Francis. 


74 


ORGANISATION  OF  THE  CENTRAL  ADMINISTRA- 
TION IN  AUSTRIA, 

243.  Metternicli  to  the  Emperor  Francis,  October  27,  1817. 

244.  Report. 

243.  May  it  please  your  Majesty !  For  some 
time  your  Majesty  has  been  pleased  favourably  to 
regard  my  views  on  certain  points  in  the  internal 
administration,  and  to-day  I  consider  it  my  duty  to 
touch  upon  the  first  steps  in  the  execution  of  this  very 
important  matter. 

In  the  enclosure  (No.  244)  your  Majesty  will  find 
the  plan  worked  out,  which,  as  a  first  draft,  is  slight, 
but  still  contains,  I  believe,  all  that  is  really  important. 

Your  Majesty  knows  from  long  experience  that  all 
desire  for  unnecessary  alteration  and  dangerous  distur- 
bance is  far  from  me.  In  my  Eeport  tliere  is  nothing 
glaring,  nothing  revolutionary,  not  a  single  dangerous 
principle.  I  uphold  order,  because,  from  an  adminis- 
tration internally  too  complicated,  disorder  must  ensue. 
In  a  kingdom  like  Austria,  where  so  much  has  been 
prepared  by  the  glorious  government  of  a  Maria 
Theresa,  and  the  theoretical  experiments  of  your 
Majesty's  predecessor — in  a  kingdom  in  which  every 
occasion  proves  that  true  public  spirit  animates  the 
majority  of  the  nation  ;  lastly,  in  a  kingdom  where 
your  Majesty  comes  forward  in  your  own  august  person 
as  the  most  successful  lawgiver  for  the  welfare  of  the 


METTERNICH   TO   THE   EMPEROR  FRANCIS.  75 

people — it  requires  no  extraordinary  efforts  to  act 
for  the  general  good.  The  cause  of  the  existing  evil 
(and  where  is  there  none  ?)  must  be  sought  and  found, 
and  the  result  of  this  attempt  must  be  set  forth  in 
simple  phrases.  This  work  I  have  undertaken  as  soon 
as  I  felt  myself  sufficiently  enhghtened  and  strong 
enough  for  the  task. 

Everything  that  I  now  bring  before  your  Majesty 
I  bring  as  the  result  of  a  conviction  which — standing 
the  test  of  a  long  self-imposed  probation — has  grown 
in  my  mind  from  the  strongest  evidence.  Your  Ma- 
jesty will  find  in  my  work  nothing  new  to  your  Majesty. 
All  the  points  now  shown  in  a  connected  form  I  have 
brought  before  your  Majesty  separately  in  many  con- 
fidential conversations  ;  the  defect  in  the  administration 
and  the  means  of  remedy  have  long  been  evident  to 
me,  but  I  hesitated  to  express  without  consideration 
and  proof  what  must  have  such  imjDortant  conse- 
quences. 

With  every  day  my  mind  has  gradually  limited 
itself  to  rendering  the  propositions  more  simple.  I 
have  looked  into  everything  and  considered  everything, 
and  the  result  of  what  I  venture  to  call  my  certainly 
true  propositions  is,  without  any  doubt,  extremely  grati- 
fying. 

No  time  is  less  suited  than  the  present  to  bring 
forward  in  any  State  reforms  in  a  wide  sense  of  the 
word.  But,  happily,  the  machine  of  State  is  constructed 
on  such  good  principles  that,  in  a  wide  sense,  there  is 
really  nothing  in  the  machine  itself  to  be  altered. 
Everything  that  I  have  proposed  concerns  the  first 
principles  of  the  whole.  And  here  I  do  not  venture  on 
one  reform  tending  to  the  overthrow  of  normal  forms, 
but  merely  a  regulation  of  the  parts,  and  those,  indeed, 


76      ORGANISATION   OF   CENTRAL   ADMINISTRATION. 

tlie    already    existing    organic    parts    of    tlie    central 
authority  of  the  State. 

In  my  plan  I  am  intentionally  silent  on  the  future 
condition  of  Hungary.  This  subject,  one  of  the  most 
important  which  can  occupy  the  attention  of  the  State, 
is  of  so  complicated  a  nature  that  it  cannot  be  handled 
in  a  fragmentary  manner.  Your  Majesty  has  heard  the 
proposal  for  the  subversion  of  the  Hungarian  Government 
often  and  boldly  expressed.  Even  in  the  year  1811, 
at  a  period  in  which  such  an  undertaking  would  inevit- 
ably have  caused  the  overthrow  of  the  monarchy — and 
in  1813,  when,  if  not  so  dangerous,  even  then  every 
energetic  expression  of  it  would  have  been  impossible — 
this  question  was  brought  forward  as  if  it  were  a  mere 
matter  for  peremptory  decision.  If  I  at  that  time  ex- 
pressed myself  against  the  idea,  I  did  not  at  all  mean  to 
deny  that,  with  time  and  opportunity,  with  cooler  re- 
flection and  more  undisturbed  repose,  the  great  work  of 
the  civilisation  of  Hungary — for  this  must  first  of  all  be 
the  question  — should  be  brought  forward  with  due  effect. 
The  few  remarks  which  I  have  made  on  the  connec- 
tion of  my  ideas  on  the  central  government  of  the  whole 
monarchy  with  the  position  of  Hungary  are  indisputable. 
In  proportion  as  the  action  of  the  supreme  power  is 
strengthened  will  the  obstacles  disappear  which  even 
now  are  so  powerful  against  a  more  reasonable  and,  for 
Hungary  itself,  invaluable  alteration  in  her  administra- 
tion and  constitution. 

That  by  the  carrying  out  of  my  proposals  every  evil 
will  be  avoided  in  the  future,  I  am  far  from  expecting. 
But  that  a  reliable  Government,  resting  on  enhghtened 
principles,  set  forth  in  the  clear  words  which  are  the 
necessary  consequence  of  clear  ideas,  smooths  the  way 
for  all   good,  while,   on    the  contrary,   a  confusion  of 


METTERNICH   TO  THE   EMPEROR   FRANCIS.  77 

ideas  in  the  Government  stands  in  the  way,  is  not  to  be 
denied.  Besides,  there  is  no  human  institution  which, 
if  it  rests  on  clear  fundamental  principles,  does  not  im- 
prove as  it  progresses  ;  while  a  tendency  to  still  greater 
inabihty  and  confusion  is  the  inevitable  result  of  a  con- 
trary position. 

And  in  this  truth,  confirmed  as  it  is  unmistakably 
by  the  experience  of  all  ages,  lies  one  of  the  chief 
reasons  which  must  incline  your  Majesty  to  enter  upon 
a  firm  organisation  of  the  very  foundation  of  the  admi- 
nistration. 

The  Government,  as  it  is  at  present,  rests  in  its  daily 
working  too  entirely  on  the  principle  of  centralisation. 
The  machine  of  government  goes  on,  because  its  springs 
are  well  put  together  and  well  guided,  and  because  there 
is  at  the  head  of  the  administration  a  monarch  capable 
of  ruling.  How  little  this  would  be  the  case  on  the 
occurrence  of  that  sad  catastrophe  which  in  the  course 
of  nature  must  befall  the  monarchy  is  known  to  your 
Majesty  ;  for  your  Majesty  is  as  man  and  as  father  what 
your  Majesty  is  as  monarch — clear  and  unprejudiced  in 
opinion  and  judgment !  Your  Majesty  is  called  to  look 
forward  and  provide  for  that  time,  and  to  this  end  there 
is  but  one  road  which  promises  success. 

Under  your  Majesty's  eyes,  under  your  Majesty's 
fostering  hand,  the  chief  Government  must  be  organised 
in  such  a  manner,  as  may  best  preserve  it  from  going 
astray,  or  at  least  not  make  it  easy  to  do  so.  Let  your 
Majesty  only  think  what  would  be  the  present  progress 
of  affairs  without  your  Majesty's  presence,  without  the 
influence  on  which  that  progress  is  almost  exclusively 
founded.  But  the  strength  and  durability  of  a  great 
Government  rests  not  alone  on  the  estabhshment  of  prin- 
ciples; at  first,  (and  for  States,  years  are  often  no  more 


78      ORGANISATION   OF   CENTRAL   ADMINISTRATION. 

than  moments)  not  only  the  chief  leader,  but  all  the 
instruments  must  grow  accustomed  to  the  new  sphere 
of  action.  Your  Majesty  has  done  nothing  for  posterity 
even  if  during  the  latter  period  of  hfe  your  Majesty 
should  pass  some  great  administrative  measure  intended 
for  the  future ;  for  the  only  possible  guarantee  for  the 
duration  of  a  moral  work  lies,  not  merely  in  principles, 
but  in  the  choice  of  means  for  the  execution  and  main- 
tenance of  the  new  system.  A  feeble  successor  to  your 
Majesty  would  then  find  it  as  difficult  to  overthrow  a 
sound  and  well-established  Government  as  it  would  be 
impossible  for  him  to  produce  or  inaugurate  one. 

Your  Majesty  will  be  pleased  to  accept  this  my  humble 
Eeport  with  the  same  gracious  favour  of  which  I  have 
already  received  so  many  proofs.  It  expresses  my 
deepest  conviction  shortly  and  simply,  as  alone  is 
worthy  of  my  aims,  and  of  your  Majesty's  comprehen- 
sive insight. 

Report. 

244.  The  daily  observation  of  the  course  of  pubHc 
affairs  in  the  monarchy,  affords  proof  that,  with  a 
number  of  good  laws  and  administrative  rules,  the 
Government  still  does  not  possess  that  degree  of  strength 
which  constitutes  the  true  idea  of  a  monarchy.  The 
cause  of  this  want  of  strength  is,  I  believe,  confined  to 
the  organisation  of  the  supreme  administration.  To 
discover  without  prejudice  how  this  evil  became  pos- 
sible and  in  what  it  consists  we  must  above  all  consider 
the  principles  of  the  formation  of  the  collective 
monarchy  into  its  present  whole.  This  idea  clearly  and 
truly  Set  fortli  will  make  evident  the  means  of  im- 
provement. 


EEPOKT.  79 

In  political  and  administrative  respects,  the  Aus- 
trian Empire,  from  its  numerous  constituent  parts, 
forms  a  federal  State  under  one  common  monarch. 

The  greater  portions  of  the  monarchy — Hungary, 
Bohemia,  the  two  Austrias,  Transylvania,  Croatia,  &c. — 
have  old  and  peculiar  constitutions,  which  are  more 
or  less  in  force,  but  still  always  exist.  New  additions, 
such  as  Tyrol,  Vorarlberg,  Galicia,  the  two  Italian 
kingdoms,  &c.,  even  those  which  were  ancient  posses- 
sions of  the  Archducal  house,  have  had  permanent  con- 
stitutions granted  by  their  monarchs,  with  due  regard 
to  their  former  ch'cumstances  and  present  needs. 
These  countries,  so  different  in  climate,  speech,  manners 
and  customs,  had  their  own  crowns,  which  were  all 
borne  by  the  Austrian  Emperor,  and  three  separate 
coronations  took  place  on  his  accession  to  the  Govern- 
ment. 

These  circumstances  are  undoubtedly  worthy  of  the 
deepest  consideration  of  the  Government,  for  in  them 
are  seen  the  separate  nationalities  of  the  different  parts  of 
the  Imperial  State.  In  this  as  well  as  in  many  other 
respects  the  position  of  the  Austrian  monarch  is  like 
that  of  no  other. 

In  its  pohtical  and  geographical  aspects  the  Austrian 
State  forms  an  open  country  in  the  midst  of  the  Euro- 
pean continent.  Surrounded  on  all  sides  by  greater  or 
smaller  neighbours,  it  lacks,  from  the  highest  point  of 
view,  a  connected  military  frontier.  The  monarchy 
must  consequently  seek  in  itself,  in  the  common  feehng 
of  its  peoples,  in  their  political,  mihtary,  and  financial 
administration,  its  greatest  strength. 

Convinced  of  this  truth,  I  am  none  the  less  sure  that, 
if  Austria  requires  a  greater  expenditure  of  strength  for 
her  self-preservation   than    any    other  European    State 


so        ORGANISATION   OF   CENTRAL   ADMINISTRATION. 

(Prussia  excepted),  with  us,  as  ever,  true  and  indepen- 
dent strength  is  only  found  as  the  result  of  an  intelligent, 
definite,  and  well-arranged  system  of  government. 

In  following  out  this  idea,  there  are  for  Austria  but 
two  positions  worthy  of  consideration  : — 

Either  the  entire  merging  of  all  the  separate  parts 
of  the  monarchy  in  one  single  form  of  government ; 

Or,  the  careful  regulation  of  the  reasonable  long- 
existing  differences  sanctioned  by  speech,  climate, 
manners,  and  customs  in  the  various  districts  of  the 
monarchy,  under  a  strong,  well-organised  Central  Go- 
vernment. 

The  idea  of  thorough  incorporation  was  the  founda- 
tion of  the  Emperor  Joseph's  system  of  government. 
During  his  time  the  boldest  theories  were  launched. 
He  made  an  attempt  at  fusion,  and  a  few  years  sufficed 
to  see  it  repealed. 

Although  the  unity  of  all  the  executive  means  which 
an  administration  has  at  command  may  be  the  most 
active  and  convenient  form  of  power  for  a  Govern- 
ment, certainly  the  thorough  amalgamation  of  such 
heterogeneous  parts  can  only  be  the  result  of  a  mighty 
revolution  ;  or  at  best,  a  Government  can,  under  such 
circumstances,  only  escape  the  dangers  of  a  revo- 
lution by  the  greatest  consistency  and  energy.  This 
truth  is  undeniably  proved  by  the  events  of  the  three 
last  decades.  How  difficult  a  real  system  of  fusion 
must  be  in  a  kingdom  which  contains  so  many  different 
languages  and  races  of  people,  whose  provinces  were 
mostly  brought  together  by  conquest,  follows  from  the 
nature  of  things.  The  miscarriage  of  the  attempt,  and 
especially  its  entire  repeal  by  the  Emperor  Joseph, 
renders  the  case  still  more  difficult,  so  that  I  am  quite 
convinced  that  a  forcible  system  of  fusion  is  an  empty 


EEPORT.  81 

and  dangerous  hypothesis,  and  smce  somethmg  of  the 
kind  is  now  necessary,  I  desire  to  bring  forward  the 
Idea  of  a  Central  Representation  of  the  nation. 

Only  the  investigation  of  the  question  remains — In 
the  Austrian  kingdom  how  can  the  greatest  possible  in- 
crease of  strength  be  attained — 

[a)  In  respect  to  the  nationalities  of  the  populations 
and  their  existing  constitutions; 

{h)  With  the  least  possible  modification  of  the  pre- 
sent forms  of  government. 

I  lay  it  down  as  an  undeniable  position  that  a 
Government  in  order  to  be  stronjr  needs  more  than  good 
laws.  Besides  sound  principles,  its  mode  of  action  must  be 
in  harmony  with  its  position,  and  this  is  not  the  case  in 
Austria.  The  monarchy  consists,  as  we  have  said,  of 
the  most  heterogeneous  elements.  This  heterogeneous 
character,  however,  is  regarded  unequally,  sometimes 
insufficiently,  sometimes  too  decidedly,  even  on  the  very 
steps  of  the  throne  itself.  Hungary  and  its  annexed 
States  enjoy  privileges  which  even  tend  to  impair  the 
action  of  the  great  machine  of  State,  while  other  pro- 
vinces divided  from  each  other  both  by  name  and  con- 
stitution, lose  their  distinctive  features  only  too  entirely 
in  the  existing  central  administration. 

Hence  for  Hungary  there  arose  a  privilege  which 
nearly  amounted  to  the  idea  of  independence,  while  the 
nationality  of  the   other  Austrian  States   was  lost   by 
friction  betAveen  the    Government  and   the  provinces.. 
By  its  present  oi'ganisation  the  supreme  German  power 
withstood    the   undeniable    tendency    to    fusion,    while- 
the  machine  of  State  itself — as  I  have   shown  above — 
rested  and  must  rest  on  an  entirely  opposite  principle, 
in  accordance  with  its  best  interests.     This  tendency,, 
arising  as  it  did  from  the  organisation  of  the  chief  au- 

VOL.  III.  G 


82        ORGANISATION   OF   CENTRAL   ADMINISTRATION. 

tliorities,  became  powerless  by  continued  friction ; 
under  its  influence  the  healthful  object  of  the  centrali- 
sation of  administrative  power  degenerated  into  a  mania 
for  details,  which  would  destroy  the  spirit  of  the  highest 
administration.  This  evil  can  be  checked  by  a  word  of 
the  monarch,  by  one  single  measure  ;  and  the  disappear- 
ance of  most  of  the  present  difficulties  will  give  the 
Government  that  degree  of  strength  and  activity  which 
it  requires  for  the  good  of  the  monarchy.  As  I  do 
not  believe  that  a  true  and  enlightened  centralisation  is 
possible  in  the  ways  hitherto  attempted,  it  is  the  object 
of  my  endeavours  to  attain  this  end,  and  that,  too,  by 
a  much  easier  path. 

From  a  certain  stage  downwards  the  monarchy  is 
very  well  and  wisely  organised.  The  arrangement  of 
its  provinces,  its  organisation  in  circles^  &c.,  could  cer- 
tainly not  be  replaced  by  any  other  with  greater  re- 
spect for  the  nationalities  of  its  subjects,  or  greater 
care  and  regard  for  justice  and  mercy  in  its  administra- 
tion. But  in  the  very  highest  stage  of  all  is  the  Govern- 
ment itself,  the  centre  of  all  power,  and  of  this  only 
we  here  speak. 

Good  must  follow  from  an  explanation  of  the 
official  positions  in  the  Government,  grounded  on  funda- 
mental principles  clearly  put  forth  and  practically  em- 
ployed. 

The  supreme  power  in  every  great  monarchy  is 
subdivided  in  the  branches  of  the  administration,  which 
are  separate  offices,  yet  all  united  for  one  end.  These 
spheres  of  action  are,  in  modern  times,  in  which  the 
public  feeling  busies  itself  principally  with  political  and 
administrative  subjects,  certainly  better  understood  and 
explained  than  they  are  in  most  States,  and  perhaps 
than  they  ever  were  before. 


REPORT.  83 

The  different  branches  or  departments  of  business  in 
every  great  State  may  be  properly  divided  as  follows  : — 

1.  Foreign  affairs. 

2.  Internal  administration  (home  affairs) 

3.  Finance. 

4.  Military  affairs. 

5.  The  administration  of  justice. 

6.  The  police. 

7.  The  Board  of  Trade  [Rechnungs-Controle). 

It  is  hardly  possible  to  think  of  any  business  which 
does  not  fall  under  one  or  other  of  these  heads. 

The  business  in  each  of  these  separate  departments 
may  be  divided  into  two  parts  : — 

a.  Affairs  as  seen  from  the  highest — that  is,  the 
moral — point  of  view. 

h.  The  executive,  or  technical  part. 

In  every  well-ordered  body  these  two  parts  must 
be  separately  considered,  and  the  technical  part,  as  con- 
taining the  means  of  execution,  is  ever  closely  connected 
with  the  moral  part,  though  always  subordinate  to  it. 

In  this  sense  the  appointment  of  a  Finance  Minis- 
ter, who  already  supplies  the  place  of  the  President  of 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  is  an  arrangement  which 
answers  extremely  well.  The  immediate  and  natural 
sphere    of  the  Finance  Minister  cannot  be  questioned. 

A  similar  arrangement — the  inevitable  consequence 
of  every  improved  organisation — should  now  take  place 
in  the  administration  of  home  affairs.  To  express  my 
ideas  plainly  on  this  reform,  I  can  only  ground  them  on 
the  above-mentioned  principles. 

I  begin  with  the  axiom  that  the  system  of  fusion, 
requiring  as  a  first  measure  the  renaming  of  the  king- 
doms and  provinces  (as  happened  in  France  at  the 
beginning  of  the  Eevolution),  is  excluded  from  all  con- 

G    )i 


84        ORGANISATION   OF   CENTRAL   ADMINISTRATION. 

sideration.  On  this  hypothesis  the  following  arrange- 
ments seem  to  be  the  most  suitable  : — 

1.  The  head  of  the  department  of  Home  Affairs 
shall  receive  the  title  of  High  Chancellor  and  Home 
Minister. 

2.  Under  him  four  Chancellors,  forming  with  him 
the  Ministry  of  Home  Affairs.  Their  sphere  is  marked 
out  by  the  nationalities  of  the  provinces  and  the  rela- 
tions arisimx  from  local  considerations. 

To  these  may  be  nominated  :- — 

a.  A  Chancellor  for  Bohemia,  Moravia,  and  Galicia, 
under  whose  care  these  countries  should  be  placed. 

h.  An  Austrian  Chancellor,  under  whom  should  be 
the  Austrian  provinces  above  and  below  the  Ems, 
Styria,  the  Innviertel,  Salzburg,  and  Tyrol. 

c.  An  niyrian  Chancellor,  over  lUyria  and  Dal- 
matia. 

d.  An  Itahan  Chancellor,  over  Lombardy  and  Venice. 
In  this  organisation  the  Home  Minister  is. the  gu?rd- 

ian  and  representative  of  the  unity  of  the  Govern- 
ment. 

Each  Chancellor  in  the  Ministry  represents  the  im- 
mediate affairs  of  the  provinces  under  him.  He  repre- 
sents in  those  provinces  the  idea  of  the  unity  of 
Government  and  maintains  its  principles  as  much  as 
possible  under  the  given  circumstances. 

Every  Chancery  [Kanzellariat)  must  have  the  neces- 
sary number  of  officers  of  different  grades. 

All  the  fundamental  and  higher  points  of  adminis- 
tration will  be  brought  before  the  Home  Minister  in 
conference.  The  immediate  arrangement  of  the  ad- 
ministration belongs  to  each  Chancellor  in  his  own 
sphere. 

It  is  evident  that,  by  this  organisation  the  Hungarian 


REPORT.  85 

and  Transylvanian  Chancery  will  be  reduced  from  the 
high  position  they  take  at  present  to  a  share  in  the 
treneral  administration. 

In  this  course  I  see  the  first  step  to  a  gradual 
reformation  in  both  these  countries.  But  since  in  the 
present  work  I  do  not  wish  to  confuse  the  real  and 
immediate  improvements  easy  of  accomplishment  with 
the  far  more  extensive  and  difficult  reforms  required  in 
Hungary  and  Transylvania,  I  will  enter  no  further  into 
this  matter. 

As  in  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  so  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  home  affairs  the  evil  exists  that  matters,  which, 
though  of  the  most  different  forms,  yet  belong  to  one  and 
the  same  branch  of  the  administration,  are,  for  want  of 
centrahsation,  the  business  of  inferior  officers  or 
managed  still  more  injuriously  by  means  of  Reports 
from  the  different  countries  [Lander-Refer ate).  It  is 
necessary  for  the  general  good  that  these  matters  should 
be  brought  under  proper  direction.  .   .   . 

It  is  not,  however,  at  all  my  intention  to  carry  out 
every  possible  improvement  without  preparation,  as  it 
were  at  one  blow,  and — as  is  unhappily  the  case  at 
present — without  a  strong  administrative  Government. 
My  Report  is  to-day  confined  to  the  following  mea- 
sures : — 

1.  That  your  Majesty  will  vouchsafe  to  decree  the 
formation  of  Ministries,  and  first  of  all,  in  addition  to 
the  existing  Ministries  for  Foreign  Affairs  and  Finance, 
a  Home  Minister  and  a  ]\Iinister  of  Justice.  Neither  the 
Police  nor  the  Board  of  Trade  seem  to  me  at  all  suitable 
to  be  raised  to  Ministries,  and  they  may  retain  the  title 
of  Presidents  without  injury. 

2.  The  organisation  of  the  Home  IMinisiry  under  a 
Minister  and  four  Chancellors. 


8G        ORGANISATION   OF   CENTRAL   ADMINISTRATION. 

The  natural  and  inevitable   consequence  of  the  first 

measure  will  be  the  organisation  of  this  Ministry  in  all 

its  different  departments.* 

Mettermch. 

*  It  is  knowu  that  in  consequence  of  this  Report  a  single  high  office  was 
established  uuder  the  name  of  the  '  United  Chancery  '  {^vereiniyte  Ilufkmidd), 
which  added  to  the  Bohemian,  Galician,  and  Austrian,  the  Illynau-Italian 
provinces,  hitherto  under  the  Central-Hofcominission,  and  brt^ught  them  all 
under  one  common  head. 

The  Royal  Patent  referred  to  described  this  measure,  declaring  that 
'  This  Supreme  Central  Home  Ministry  shall,  in  accordance  with  our  system 
of  unity,  lead  all  countries  and  peoples  to  the  same  individual  and  general 
welfare,  bring  the  public  obligations  into  equal  proportions,  spread  culture 
and  education  on  just  and  uniform  principles,  and  at  the  same  time  ob- 
serve and  foster,  with  the  greatest  tenderness,  the  various  peculiarities  and 
ditlierences  in  speech,  manners  and  customs,  climates  and  hereditary  dis- 
tinctions. 

'  As  a  result  of  these  principles,  we  are  led  to  the  formation  of  one  great 
(Chancery,  and  to  appoint  and  nominate,  under  oui*  Home  Minister — 

'  A  Bohemian-Moravian  Silesian, 

'  An  Austrian-Illyrian, 

'  A  Lombard- Venetian,  and 

*  A  Galician  Chancellor.' 

Count  Saurau  was  at  the  same  time  appointed  Home  Minister  and  High 
Chancellor ;  Count  Lazansky  was  made  Chancellor  for  Bohemia,  Moravia, 
and  Silesia  ;  Freiherr  von  Geiszlern  was  Austrian-Illyrian  Chancellor ;  and 
Count  Mellerio  the  Lombardo-Venetian  Chancellor, 

In  the  same  year  Prince  Metteruich  wished  to  proceed  with  the  reform 
of  the  central  administration.  It  was  part  of  his  plan  to  reorganise  the 
provincial  Diets  {Provinzial  atdnde)  and  to  form  from  these  bodies  a  central 
representation  of  Austria — a  Reichsrath.  In  the  above  Report  mention 
i.-'  made  of  a  '  central  representation,'  and  if  it  is  not  placed  in  the  most 
favourable  light,  yet  the  connection  of  such  an  institution  with  the  greater 
centralisation  of  the  administration  is  pointed  out.  The  attentive  reader 
will  not  fail  to  observe  the  prudent  care  with  which  the  minister  evidently 
strives  to  preserve  his  proposals  for  reform  from  any  appearance  of  novelty. 
But  that  Metternich's  ideas  of  reform  were  not  limited  to  the  creation  of 
a  Home  Ministry  is  proved,  beyond  doubt,  by  evidence  in  the  Chancellor's 
own  hand  of  a  subsequent  period.  The  passage  alluded  to  was  apparently- 
written  for  the  unhappily  imperfect  '  Autobiography,'  and  is  as  follows : — 

'  While  I  declared  [it  was  in  the  year  1817]  as  a  fact  defying  all  scrutiny, 
that  the  Austiian  Empire  possesses  peculiar  and  exceptional  conditions  of 
existence  and  prosperity,  and  that  it  could  only  be  a  question  of  using,  not 
removing,  those  conditions,  the  problem  was,  as  far  as  I  was  concerned, 
limited  to  the  discovery  of  the  forms  to  be  used  and  the  means  of  carrying 


REPORT.  87 

them  out.  The  Brst  is  expressed  in  the  idea  of  the  strengthening  of  the 
Central  Government ;  the  other  led  me  to  the  point  whether  this  increase  of 
strength  was  to  be  found  in  centralisation  according  to  the  French  idea,  or 
by  a  consideration  of  the  separate  parts  of  the  kingdom  in  relation  to  the 
Imperial  power.  My  answer  could  not  be  doubtful.  Thu  question  was  of 
the  preservation,  not  of  the  disintegration,  of  the  Empire,  and  I  took  my 
stand  on  the  principle  of  the  legislative  regulation  of  the  parts  and  the 
simultaneous  strengthening  of  the  Central  Government  in  its  legislative  and 
executive  departments. 

'  In  those  parts  there  exist  representative  Diets  which  must  be  formed 
into  one  central  body.  The  task  was  then,  in  spite  of  the  difficulties  in- 
separable from  such  a  form,  easier  to  define  than  the  present  state  of  things. 
I  propose,  therefore,  a  revision  of  the  Diets  in  order  to  form  a  Reichsrath, 
which  would  extend  from  the  centre  outwards — f^om  the  Emperor  to  the 
landed  proprietors  selected — to  be  completed  by  delegates  from  the  different 
Diet^.  To  this  new  central  point  the  scrutiny  of  the  budget  and  every  law 
will  be  submitted  which  concerns  the  community. 

*  The  Emperor  Francis  saw  the  importance  of  the  thing,  but  put  off  its 
examination  from  year  to  year  and,  after  his  recovery  from  a  severe  illness 
which  he  had  in  the  year  I8:i7,  declared  his  firm  determination  to  take 
my  Report  into  consideration.  At  the  end  of  the  j'ear  1834  the  Emperor 
told  me  that  he  reproached  himself  for  not  having  carried  out  the  matter, 
but  that  before  the  end  of  the  year  1835  the  declaration  should  be  made. 
Two  months  afterwards  he  was  no  more  !  ' 

We  must  confine  ourselves  to  these  extracts,  for  we  have  not  succeeded 
in  finding  the  Report  to  the  Emperor  Francis  here  alluded  to,  which  is  hardly 
to  be  wondered  at,  considering  the  dilatory  conduct  to  which  the  matter 
was  exposed  for  eighteen  years. — Ed. 


88 


THE  INTERNAL  CONDITION  OF  ITALY,  AND  MET- 
TERNICH'S  DESIRE  FOR  A  NATIONAL  GOVERN- 
MENT OF  THE  LOMBARDO-VENETIAN  KINGDOM. 

245.  A  memorandum  by  Metternicli  to  the  Emperor  Francis. 

246.  Metternich  to  the  Emperor  Francis  (Report),  Gratz,  November  3, 
1817. 

245.  Your  Majesty  will  vouchsafe  to  remember 
that  m  October  of  last  year  I  took  occasion  to  lay  before 
your  Majesty  the  necessity  of  becoming  acquainted 
with  the  action  of  the  Government  and  the  particular 
causes  of  the  general  dissatisfaction  of  the  Italian  States. 

My  principal  object  was,  first,  if  necessary,  to  be 
able  to  act  beneficially  on  the  Government ;  secondly, 
from  the  data  collected,  to  gain  a  firmer  footing  for 
administrative  principles  in  our  own  Itahan  provinces. 

At  the  same  time  I  took  the  liberty  of  getting  well- 
informed  men  to  go  to  Florence,  Modena,  Parma,  and 
Eome,  and  bring  reports  to  your  Majesty  for  this 
purpose.  Your  Majesty  vouchsafed  to  look  favourably 
on  my  views,  and  allowed  me  to  accept  from  Counts 
Diego  Guicciardi  and  Tito  Manzi  the  offer  I  had  invited 
them  to  make. 

These  gentlemen  have  now  returned  from  their 
travels.  Tito  Manzi  cannot  but  confess  that  everything 
which  he  saw  and  heard  during  his  mission  in  Italy 
convinced  him  of  the  great  and  general  dissatisfaction 
there  prevailing.  He  divides  the  evils  weighing  upon 
Italy  into  two  classes,  namely  : — 


NAPLES   AND   SICILY.  89 

General  trouble,  from  wliich  no  State  in  the  penin- 
sula is  free  ;  and 

Particular  grievances  of  each  of  these  States. 

Manzi  ascribes  the  first  of  these*  to  two  principal 
causes  :  one  resting,  according  to  him,  on  nature  itself, 
which  has  for  three  years  been  very  severe  on  this 
country  ;  the  second  he  ascribes  to  the  results  of  the 
conquest,  which,  by  overthrowing  pohtical  order,  has 
shattered  the  foundations  of  the  pubhc  welfare. 

On  closer  enquiry  into  the  particular  grievances, 
Manzi  described  the  attitude  of  the  separate  States  given 
back  to  Italy — rulers  being  set  against  the  people,  as 
well  as  the  latter  against  their  Governments.  He  began 
with  Naples  and  Sicily,  then  came  to  Eome,  and  from 
thence  to  Tuscany,  Lucca,  Modena,  and  Parma,  con- 
cluding with  Piedmont. 

Your  Majesty  will  permit  me  to  follow    the  same 

course. 

Naples  and  Sicily. 

Manzi  regrets  that  Austria  did  not  support  the 
party  which  strove  to  raise  Prince  Leopold  to  the 
throne  of  Naples,  and  had  not  made  the  division  of 
the  two  crowns  conditional  on  the  union  of  that  Prince 
with  the  Archduchess  Clementine.  The  prejudice  of 
the  ex-minister  of  an  illegal  Government  for  these  revolu- 
tionary ideas  ought  not  to  cause  surprise,  and  it  is  quite 
natural  that  he  should  look  at  Austria's  advantage  in 
this  matter  after  the  fashion  of  Napoleon,  Murat,  &c. 
But  what  would  have  been  useful  and  serviceable  for 
them  would  be  prejudicial  to  a  legitimate  Government, 
whose  policy  must  rest  on  the  indestructible  founda- 
tions of  justice  and  integrity. 

Your  Majesty  will  vouchsafe  to  remember  that  in 
the  course  of  the  winter  of  1815,  the  attempt  was  made 


90  INTERNAL   CONDITION   OF   ITALY. 

by  the  ambassador,  Prince  Jablonowski  to  find  out  the 
point  of  view  from  which  his  Court  regarded  these 
ideas  ;  being  ordered,  however,  to  reject  immediately 
any  such  communication,  as  so  contrary  to  the  principles 
of  your  Majesty  that  our  ambassador  dare  not  venture 
to  bring  it  to  your  Majesty's  knowledge. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  Tito  Manzi,  who  knows 
nothing  of  the  negotiations  which  accompanied  the 
Act  of  Union  of  the  two  kingdoms,  dwells  on  the  un- 
pleasant impression  which  this  measure  has  produced 
on  the  Sicilian  nobles,  who  had  wished  to  be  released 
from  the  constitution  of  Lord  Bentinck,  on  condition  of 
a  complete  reinstatement  in  their  rights  and  privileges. 
The  Neapolitan  Government,  on  the  other  hand,  intended 
the  overthrow  of  Bentinck's  constitution,  because  it 
was  not  in  itself  adequate  to  the  end  proposed,  and 
because  it  tied  their  hands.  For  the  same  reasons 
also  they  could  not  wish  to  restore  the  old,  and  this 
the  less  because  Sicily,  instead  of  contributing  in  just 
proportion  to  the  burdens  of  the  State,  was  financially, 
under  both  constitutions,  itself  a  considerable  burden. 
By  the  union  of  the  two  kingdoms,  however,  the 
Government  secured  the  great  financial  advantage  of  a 
gradual  introduction  of  the  Neapolitan  administration 
into  Sicily. 

Your  Majesty  will  remember  that  the  happy  con- 
clusion of  tliese  negotiations  was  a  great  cause  of 
satisfaction  to  King  Ferdinand  IV.  He  owes  it  also 
unquestionably  to  the  interposition  of  your  Majesty 
with  the  English  Government.  It  was  no  easy  task 
to  induce  the  British  ministry  to  surrender  a  constitu- 
tion drawn  up  by  Lord  Bentinck,  and  introduced  into 
Sicily  under  English  influence — a  question  which,  as 
it   was  a  Parliamentary  question,  was  exposed  to  two- 


KOME.  91 

fold  difficulties.  But  it  suited  our  interest  to  enter  into 
the  designs  of  the  Neapolitan  Court,  and  thus  prevent 
Sicily  from  serving  as  an  example  to  the  kingdom  of 
Naples  subsequently,  and  also  to  prevent  the  numerous 
constitutionalists  of  this  kingdom  (supported  by  this 
example)  from  seeking  to  induce  the  ministry  to  give 
them  also  a  representative  form  of  government.  The 
union  of  the  two  kingdoms  was,  moreover,  the  surest 
means  of  rendering  impotent  the  awkw^ard  reports 
which  were  current  with  regard  to  Austria's  design  of 
placing  Prince  Leopold  on  the  throne  of  Naples,  and 
made  the  separation  of  the  two  crowns  impossible  for 
the  future. 

These  were  the  grounds  which  moved  your  Ma- 
jesty to  support  the  present  negotiation.  To  your 
Majesty  King  Ferdinand  owes  its  happy  termination, 
but  he  and  his  ministry  attributed  the  greatest  impor- 
tance to  the  carrying  out  of  this  change,  and  to  the 
declaration  of  Austria  and  England  that  it  would  not 
be  opposed  by  these  two  Powers.  It  would,  then,  be 
false  and  ungrateful  of  the  King  to  wish  it  to  be 
beheved  that  he  was  constrained  or  forced  to  these 
measures  by  your  Majesty.  Such  an  assertion  could  be 
believed  by  no  one,  and  if  it  were  really  made  would 
redound  only  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  King  himself. 

Rome. 

It  is  certainly  remarkable  that  a  former  minister  of 
Murat's  should  do  such  full  justice  to  Cardinal  Consalvi 
and  his  views  as  is  done  by  this  Tito  Manzi.  Whether 
he  speaks  of  him  well  or  ill,  both  are  with  foundation  ; 
and  although  one  may  regret  that  the  Cardinal-Secre- 
tary supported  his  own  work  so  feebly  and  was  himself 
the  cause  of  the  motu  propria  failing  so  entirely,  never- 


92  INTERNAL   CONDITION   OF  ITALY. 

tlieless  the  great  service  cannot  be  denied  him  of  having 
had  the  courage  to  inaugurate  in  the  States  of  the 
Church  a  form  of  government  and  principles  v^ell 
suited  to  prevent  (at  least  during  the  course  of  his  mi- 
nistry) a  violent  reaction  which  would  have  been  dan- 
gerous to  all  the  Italian  States. 

If  the  course  of  the  business  of  the  administration 
was  often  interrupted  by  the  disorder  existing  in  the 
bureaux,  yet  it  cannot  be  denied  that  the  action  of 
Cardinal  Consalvi  and  the  strength  of  his  policy  were 
successful  in  securing  the  peace  of  the  capital,  getting 
rid  of  the  brigands  or  holding  them  in  check,  and 
by  means  of  a  very  small  armed  power  (a  body  of  from 
15,000  to  17,000  well-clothed  and  well-disciplined  men) 
making  the  Government  respected. 

The  Cardinal's  political  principles  are  known  to  your 
Majesty,  and  Manzi  does  him  injustice,  I  think,  when 
he  doubts  the  sincerity  of  his  feeling  for  Austria.  Car- 
dinal Consalvi  is  certainly  as  much  devoted  to  us  as  the 
head  of  the  Papal  Ministry  from  his  office  can  be,  and 
certainly  no  less  sincerely  desirous  to  remove  the  hin- 
drances which  arose  in  consequence  of  Prince  Kaunitz's 
negotiations  (No.  249)  with  the  Papal  See,  for  he  shared 
our  feeling  of  the  necessity  (for  the  maintenance  of 
peace  in  Italy,  and  the  support  even  of  the  Papal  Go- 
vernment) of  a  thorough  agreement  between  the  Eoman 
and  Austrian  Courts. 

Monsignor  Pacca,  Governor  of  Eome,  and  Head  of 
the  Pohce,  is,  according  to  Cardinal  Consalvi,  of  all  the 
Government  officials,  the  most  important.  He  seems  to 
be  a  man  of  great  resources,  strong  character,  and  much 
activity,  but  perhaps  somewhat  too  severe.  He  would, 
if  he  were  not  restrained,  be  inclined  to  take  energetic 
measures  against  the  dissidents  (Sectirer),  and  especially 


TUSCANY.  93 

against  the  adherents  of  the  last  Government.  Happily 
we  succeeded  in  bringing  him  into  confidential  relations 
with  us,  and  we  made  use  of  them  to  persuade  him  to 
a  similar  course  with  ours  in  pohce  business. 

As  Manzi  remarked,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  in 
the  Legations,  and  especially  in  Bologna,  there  existed  a 
so-called  Austrian  party,  which  cherished  the  hope  that 
your  Majesty  would  on  the  death  of  the  Holy  Father 
take  this  province  under  your  protection.  During  my 
residence  in  Tuscany  an  attempt  was  even  made  to  gain 
me  over  to  this.  I,  however,  rejected  this  idea  as  con- 
trary to  your  Majesty's  principles  and  opposed  to  the 
late  transactions.  And,  in  fact,  in  spite  of  all  the  ad- 
vantages that  a  union  of  the  Legations  with  the  Lorn- 
bardo-Yenetian  kingdom  seemed  to  ofler,  I  was  far  from 
being  convinced  that  this  union  would  be  a  real  gain 
for  the  monarchy.  I  believe  rather  that  Bologna,  from 
the  day  when  it  belonged  to  Austria,  would  have  become 
the  centre  of  the  opposition  party  against  the  Govern- 
ment in  Italy,  and  that  the  same  unquiet  spirit  which 
now  led  to  the  desire  to  join  us  would  be  turned  against 
us  as  soon  as  Bologna  came  into  our  j)ossession. 

Tuscany. 

Unpleasant  as  is  the  picture  drawn  by  Manzi  of  the 
present  state  of  Tuscany,  of  the  weakness  of  the  mi- 
nistry, of  the  individuals  composing  the  Archducal 
ministry,  and  of  the  sadly  altered  feeling  in  tliis  coun- 
try, I  cannot  but  feel  that  it  is  quite  a  true  one.  The 
data  which  I  was  able  to  collect  during  my  stay  in 
Florence,  tlie  results  of  my  own  observations,  my  con- 
versations with  the  Grand  Duke  and  his  ministers,  con- 
vinced me  that  no  State  in  the  world  is  more  easy  to 
govern  and  make  happy  than  Tuscany.     It  would  like- 


94  INTEKNAL   CONDITION   OF  ITALY. 

wise  depend  on  joiiv  Imperial  Highness,  even  while 
materially  lightening  the  burdens  of  the  people,  to 
become  the  richest  monarch  in  Europe,  Manzi  cal- 
culates the  revenues  of  these  States  alone  at  twenty  mil- 
lion livres.  I  reserve  to  myself  to  show  your  Majesty  in  a 
separate  Report  that  the  revenue  amounts  to  nearly 
double  that  sum.  With  such  comparatively  important 
resources,  one  cannot  but  be  astonished  that  the  Arch- 
duke's treasury  is  always  empty,  that  the  loans  to  the 
fiscal  board  make  twelve  per  cent.,  that  many  useful 
public  institutions  lie  idle,  that  all  classes  of  the  popula- 
tion are  more  or  less  discontented  ;  and,  lastly,  that  a 
land  so  highly  favoured  by  nature  should  have  lost 
even  the  hope  of  a  happier  existence. 

I  will  report  verbally  to  your  Majesty  on  this 
matter,  and  on  the  little  I  was  able  to  effect  during  my 
residence  in  this  interesting  country,  as  well  as  give  an 
account  of  my  efforts  to  prepare  the  way  for  more  con- 
fidential relations  between  the  two  Courts. 

Lucca. 

Some  months  ago  (May  1817),  I  was  able  to  lay 
before  your  Majesty,  through  Lieutenant  Werklein, 
Manzi's  views  on  the  causes  of  the  discontent  in  this 
country,  as  well  as  on  its  government.  The  provisional 
Governor  may  have  allowed  himself  to  be  urged  by  his 
subordinates  to  many  false  measures  ;  but  yet  he  is  a 
worthy  man,  who  by  his  zeal,  activity,  and  integrity, 
has  a  claim  on  your  Majesty's  favour. 

At  my  departure  I  had  the  opportunity  of  observing 
that  all  classes  of  the  population,  although  they  desired 
the  termination  of  the  provisional  (Austrian)  Govern- 
ment, did  full  justice  to  our  principles — indeed,  that  they 
even   reckoned    on   our  support  if  their   future  ruler 


LUCCA   AND   MODENA.  95 

tried  to  govern  tliem  at  all  in  imitation  of  the  Madrid 
Court. 

Modena. 

The  short  time  (twenty-four  hours)  that  I  stayed  in 
Modena  did  not  suffice  to  show  me  whether  and  how 
far  Manzi's  assertion  of  the  dissatisfaction  reigning  there 
among  all  classes  was  well  founded,  and  whether  it  was 
true  that  the  Archduke  does  not  enjoy  the  affection  of 
his  subjects.  I  should  be  more  inclined,  however,  to 
suppose  that  there  is  some  exaggeration  in  Manzi's  opi- 
nion of  the  administration  and  the  ruler  of  this  country. 
If  the  country  is  really  badly  governed,  which  1  am  far 
from  positively  asserting,  certainly  the  fault  must  be 
with  the  Archduke,  for  he  alone  administers  the  go- 
vernment. To  judge  from  some  conversations  with  him, 
I  should,  however,  suppose  that  he  carries  on  this  ad- 
ministration more  like  a  wealthy  and  prudent  landowner 
than  as  a  sovereign. 

What  Manzi  observes  of  the  general  discontent  may 
arise  from  some  cause  easy  of  explanation.  This  little 
country  furnished  the  greater  number  of  the  distin- 
guished servants  of  the  State  in  the  late  Kingdom  of 
Italy,  and  many  of  them  had  reached  the  highest  places 
in  that  Government.  Deprived  of  their  offices,  without 
prospect  for  the  future,  they  regret  their  former  influ- 
ence, their  emoluments — in  fact,  they  have  lost  all  that 
nourishes  and  flatters  human  ambition.  The  latter 
circumstance  made  it  necessary  to  return  to  their  father- 
land, where  they  were  but  coldly  received  by  their 
sovereign,  and  apparently  subjected  to  a  strict  observa- 
tion ;  hence  they  naturally  formed  in  Modena  a  centre  oi 
opposition  to  the  present  Government.  Now,  however, 
the  Duke  begins,  in  spite  of  his  prejudice  against  the 


96  INTERNAL   CONDITION   OF   ITALY. 

whole  class,   to  give  some  of  them   civil  and  mihtary 
appointments. 

It  is  certain  that  between  the  Duke  of  Modena  and 
the  Eoman  Court,  or,  more  properly,  between  that 
Prince  and  the  Cardinals,  close  relations  exist,  and  that 
this  powerful  party  in  Eome  exercises  in  Modena  a  real 
influence  detrimental  to  our  interests  in  Italy.  There  is 
also  no  doubt  that  the  Courts  of  Modena  and  Turin  are 
in  daily  confidential  agreement,  which,  far  from  being 
favourable  to  us,  is  intended  to  undermine  our  influence 
in  Italy.  Lastly,  it  is  not  to  be  denied  that  the  Duke  of 
Modena  takes  a  part  in  complete  opposition  to  our  in- 
terests, which  are,  indeed,  difficult  to  be  comprehended 
by  any  Prince  not  of  the  House  of  Austria.  But  your 
Majesty  knows  him,  and  that  he  holds  obstinately  to  his 
opinions ;  hence  I  believe  that  to  attack  these  too 
sharply  would  risk  the  danger  of  alienating  him  from 
us  permanently.  These  considerations  led  me,  during 
my  very  short  stay  in  Modena,  not  to  touch  on  so  deli- 
cate a  question,  but  to  confine  myself  to  laying  the 
foundations  of  the  happiest  relations. 

Parma. 

If  my  residence  of  two  days  in  Parma  was  too  short 
to  learn  the  course  of  the  Government  there,  its  defects 
and  its  advantages,  as  well  as  those  of  the  persons  en- 
trusted with  its  direction,  and  to  gain  a  right  idea  of  the 
grounds  of  the  dissatisfaction  and  its  influence  on  pubhc 
feehng,  yet  tliis  short  stay  was  sufficient  to  convince  me 
that  Manzi's  deplorable  picture  is  in  many  respects  too 
strongly  drawn.  Since  the  removal  of  Count  Magaroh, 
her  Excellency  the  Archduchess  devotes  herself  eagerly 
and  anxiously  to  business.  She  presides  over  the  min- 
isterial councils,  and  the  final  decision  rests  with  her. 


ct 


PIEDMONT.  97 

Parma  is  not  a  fertile  district ;  its  commercial  re- 
sources are  unimportant.  It  has  suffered  much  of  late 
years  from  the  passage  of  troops,  from  the  want  so 
prevalent  in  Italy,  and,  lastly,  from  an  epidemic  resulting 
from  this  distress.  It  is  therefore  possible  that  the 
public  burdens  are  not  connected  with  the  present  posi- 
tion of  affairs  ;  moreover,  the  finances  do  not  seem  to  be 
so  badly  managed  as  Manzi  describes,  since  I  have  found 
a  balance  in  your  Majesty's  coffers,  in  spite  of  the  ex- 
penses of  a  too  costly  army,  an  expensive  Court,  and 
large  assistance  to  the  public  institutions. 

Piedino?it. 

Of  all  the  Italian  Governments  the  Piedmontese  is 
indisputably  the  one  which  calls  for  the  most  anxious 
attention.  This  country  unites  in  itself  all  the  different 
elements  of  discontent,  and  from  this  point  of  view  I 
find  Manzi's  representation  correct. 

His  remarks  on  the  anxiety  which  the  arming  of 
this  Power  must  create  are  not  so  just.  The  King  of 
Sardinia,  indeed,  constantly  occupies  himself  since  his 
restoration  with  the  formation  of  his  army,  and  chiefiy 
with  the  ^preparation  of  the  means  of  bringing  it  quickly 
to  a  strength  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  j)opulation  and 
finances  of  his  States.  However,  the  results  have  not 
so  far  corresponded  with  his  efforts  or  his  expectations. 

I  observe,  too,  that  notwithstanding  the  widespread 
and  well-founded  grounds  for  dissatisfaction  in  the  Sar- 
dinian States,  and  even  in  Genoa,  which  bears  the  yoke 
of  this  Power  with  great  impatience,  and  does  not  con- 
ceal its  annoyance,  a  revolutionary  movement  is  not  to 
be  feared  in  this  country. 

Consequently,  it  is  the  intriguing  policy  of  the  Turin 
Cabinet  alone  which  requires  our  careful  observation. 
VOL.  III.  H 


98  INTERNAL   CONDITION   OF   ITALY. 

Your  Majesty  will  have  seen  on  many  occasions  that 
my  attention  has  been  directed  to  it,  and  that  I  have 
given  this  Cabinet  itself  distinctly  to  understand  that 
none  of  its  intrigues  are  unknown  to  us,  and  that  we 
shall  find  means  to  prevent  their  success. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  Turin  Cabinet  entertains 
ambitious  views  which  can  only  be  gratified  at  the  ex- 
pense of  Austria.  I  had  lately  the  opportunity  of  giving 
the  Cabinet  of  St.  James's  a  convincing  proof  of  this, 
and  urged  them  to  join  us  in  keeping  watch  on  the 
proceedings  of  the  Turin  Cabinet.  To  this  our  efforts 
must,  in  my  opinion,  for  the  moment  be  limited.  The 
Sardinian  Court  is,  especially  since  its  union  witli  Genoa, 
too  much  bound  to  maintain  its  relations  with  England 
to  venture  on  a  political  course  contrary  to  that  Power. 
This  powerful  motive  must  therefore  weaken  the  ambi- 
tious designs  entertained  against  us  by  the  Sardinian 
Court  long  enough  for  us  to  ally  ourselves  closely  with 
Great  Britain,  and  we  shall  always  have  this  counter- 
poise also  to  oppose  to  its  intrigues  at  the  Eussian  Court. 
In  addition  to  which  the  king's  present  Ministry  neither 
appreciates  nor  enjoys  the  confidence  of  the  other 
branches  of  the  Government ;  it  is  divided  in  its  views 
and  intentions. 

Under  such  circumstances,  the  present  position  of 
things  in  Sardinia  affords  us  the  means  by  constant  ob- 
servation of  its  movements,  and  a  continuance  in  our 
own  straightforward  and  proper  course,  of  rendering 
innocuous  the  feeling  entertained  against  us  by  that 
Government. 

The  Affairs  of  the  Dissidents  in  Italy. 

I  have  for  some  time  been  certain  of  the  existence  in 
Italy  of  several  secret  fraternities,  which,  under  different 


THE   DISSIDENTS   IN    ITALY.  99 

names,  foster  a  spirit  of  excitement,  discontent,  and 
opposition.  The  designs  and  resources  of  these,  their 
leaders  and  relations  to  each  other  and  to  foreign  na- 
tions, are  all  points  needful  for  us  to  discover  in  order 
to  form  an  estimate  of  the  dangers  which  may  grow  out 
of  them  for  the  peace  of  Italy.  Two  years  of  active 
and  unbroken  observation  convinced  me  that  the  actual 
existence  of  these  different  sects  cannot  be  denied,  and 
if  their  tendency  is  mischievous  and  in  opposition  to  the 
principles  of  the  Government,  on  the  other  hand  they 
fail  to  enlist  leaders  of  name  and  character,  and  lack 
central  guidance  and  all  other  necessary  means  of  or 
ganising  revolutionary  action.  In  design  and  principle 
divided  among  themselves,  these  sects  change  every  day 
and  on  the  morrow  may  be  ready  to  fight  against  one 
another.  Manzi  is  here,  I  believe,  quite  right  when  he 
observes  that  the  surest  method  of  preventing  any  one 
of  them  from  becoming  too  powerful  is  to  leave  these 
sects  to  themselves. 

If  these  explanations  are  for  the  moment  less  dis- 
quieting, yet  we  must  not  look  with  indifference  on  such 
amass  of  individuals,  who,  more  or  less  adversaries  of 
the  existing  order  of  things,  may  easily  be  led  to  disturb 
the  public  peace,  especially  if  it  is  ever  united  by  the 
alluring  pretext  of  Italian  independence. 

England  has  for  the  moment  relinquished  these 
chimeras,  and  since  she  gave  her  consent  to  the  union 
of  Genoa  with  Piedmont  and  the  withdrawal  of  the  Bent- 
inck  constitution  in  Sicily,  she  has  almost  entirely  lost 
the  confidence  of  the  Independents. 

If  we  can  accept  Manzi's  idea,  the  Eoman  Court 
secretly  protects  the  sect  of  Guelphs,  and  makes  use  of 
the  assistance  of  Modena  to  counterbalance  the  influ- 
ence of  Austria  in  Italy  and  extend  its  own.     He  thinks, 

H  2 


100  INTERNAL   CONDITION  OF  ITALY. 

too,  that  this  Court  constantly  trembles  lest  disturbances 
should  break  out  in  these  States  caused  by  the  In- 
dependents and  numerous  adherents  of  the  late  King- 
dom of  Italy.  The  present  Papal  ISiinistry  is  too  en- 
lightened not  to  see  that  no  Italian  State  has  more  rea- 
son to  guard  against  a  revival  of  the  agitation  than  the 
States  of  the  Church,  and  that  their  greatest  strength 
hes  in  close  relations  with  Austria,  and  I  cannot  believe 
they  will  attempt  to  use  against  neighbours  so  dangerous 
a  weapon,  which  may  be  turned  against  themselves. 

France,  whose  policy  has  always  consisted  in  up- 
holding a  party  in  Italy  to  paralyse  the  influence  of 
Austria,  has  under  her  present  Government  too  great 
an  interest  in  holding  in  check  the  revolutionary  ele- 
ments which  are  obstructive  to  her  own  government, 
to  encourage  and  support  similar  elements  in  foreign 
countries. 

Spain,  not  hitherto  of  much  political  importance, 
will  at  first  confine  herself  to  gaining  some  adherents 
in  Lucca  and  Parma  who  certainly  do  not  belong  to  the 
class  of  Liberals. 

Our  anxiety  regarding  foreign  influence  can,  there- 
fore, only  reasonably  fall  on  either  Prussia  or  Eussia. 

Prussia  is  too  seriously  engaged  with  the  moral 
j)Osition  of  her  own  provinces  to  turn  her  attention 
outwards.  The  influence  of  Austria  in  Germany  is 
necessary  to  her,  and  our  relations  with  the  Prussian 
Court  exempt  us  from  any  anxiety  lest,  under  present 
circumstances,  she  should  encourage  complications  in 
Italy. 

As  to  Eussia,  though  I  do  not  permit  myself  to  en- 
tertain any  suspicion  against  the  feelings  and  views  of 
the  Emperor  Alexander,  which  I  believe  to  be  sincere 
and  pure,  I  am  yet  very  far  from  being  easy  as  to  the 


RUSSIAN   INFLUENCE.  101 

spirit  and  the  principles  revealed  by  his  ministers  and 
innumerable  agents  in  Italy.  It  is  unknown  to  me 
whether  the  latter  are  or  are  not  provided  with  instruc- 
tions from  their  Court  in  this  respect.  In  either  supposition 
it  is  clear  that  they  are  actively  employed  in  a  way 
quite  contrary  to  the  interests  of  Austria,  and  furnish 
their  Court,  if  ever  a  war  breaks  out  between  Eussia 
and  Austria,  with  the  means  of  preparing  very  perplex- 
ing complications  for  us  on  the  side  of  Italy.  It  has 
long  been  my  endeavour  to  obtain  such  undeniable 
proofs  of  this  as  will  enable  me  to  appeal  to  the  recti- 
tude of  the  Emperor  Alexander,  and  call  upon  him  to 
stop  a  scandal  so  opposed  to  the  feelings  which  he  ex- 
presses to  your  Majesty. 

If  the  Eussian  Cabinet  is  carrying  on  this  game 
without  the  knowledge  of  its  sovereign,  he  will  know 
how  to  put  a  stop  to  it.  If  this  is  being  done  by'  his 
command,  the  Emperor  Alexander  will  never  be  able  to 
stand  by  a  proceeding  so  different  from  the  just  prin- 
ciples he  has  proclaimed  ;  and  since  it  must  be  a  matter 
of  interest  to  him  not  to  place  himself  in  a  false  light 
before  the  eyes  of  Europe,  or  to  compromise  himself 
prematurely,  the  certainty  that  none  of  the  intrigues  of 
his  agents  are  unknown  to  us  will  induce  him  to  re- 
strain their  dangerous  activity,  at  any  rate  for  a  time. 

If  these  views  be  correct,  I  may  flatter  myself  with 
the  hope  that,  even  if  we  admit  the  supposition  of 
foreign  influence,  the  sects  in  Italy  will,  for  the  present, 
occasion  no  real  danger,  if  without  active  interference 
we  continue  to  watch  them. 


102  INTERNAL  CONDITION  OF  ITALY. 

Resume. 

The  consideration  and  review  of  these  data  on  the 
moral  condition  of  all  the  Italian  Governments  (with 
the  exception  of  the  Lombardo-Yenetian  kingdom)  fur- 
nish the  following  results  : — 

That  the  discontent  is  universal ;  that  if  this  discon- 
tent was  a  natural  consequence  of  the  sufferings  en- 
gendered by  the  last  unfavourable  years,  and  of  the 
pohtical  changes  which  have  taken  place  since  1814 
and  1815,  it  must  also  be  ascribed  to  the  bad  adminis- 
tration of  the  Governments  ;  that  in  Italy,  especially 
in  its  southern  regions,  and  in  Bologna  and  Genoa, 
there  is  undoubtedly  a  great  ferment  in  the  minds  of 
the  populations  supported  by  the  different  sects,  the 
tendency  of  which  is  without  doubt  dangerous,  while 
the  sects  themselves,  from  the  want  of  known  leaders 
and  of  concerted  action  among  themselves,  are  not 
nearly  so  dangerous  as  we  might  fear ;  that,  notwith- 
standing the  existence  of  this  explosive  matter,  a  re- 
volutionary movement  in  Italy  is  not  to  be  feared  so 
long  as  it  is  not  set  on  fire  and  maintained  by  some 
foreign  Power ;  lastly,  that  at  the  present  moment  no 
Power  can  in  this  respect  occasion  real  alarm. 

If  this  picture  is  very  far  from  being  satisfactory, 
it  yet  gives  us  some  ground  to  moderate  our  fears,  and 
at  the  same  time  some  advantages  by  which  we  may 
profit  to  make  the  Austrian  Government  popular  in 
Italy,  and  to  gain  reputation  and  win  the  alliance  of 
neighbouring  nations,  none  of  whom  are  content  with 
their  present  lot  or  with  their  Governments. 


LOMBARDO- VENETIAN   KINGDOM.  103 

Lomhardo-  Venetian  Kingdom.^ 

Even  the  most  zealous  adherents  of  the  last  Govern- 
ment admit  that  the  administration  of  the  Lombardo- 
Venetian  kingdom  had  many  essential  advantages  in 
comparison  with  the  other  States  of  Italy.  They  allow 
that  all  classes  of  the  population  were  equally  subject  to 
the  laws  in  Lombardy  and  the  Venetian  provinces ;  that 
the  nobles  and  the  rich  did  not  maintain  the  upper 
hand ;  that  the  clergy  were  kept  in  subjection ;  that  the 
changes  made  in  property  and  sanctioned  by  law  were 
respected,  and  that  a  veil  of  oblivion  had  been  drawn 
over  the  past — that  is  to  say,  that  no  one  was  exposed 
either  to  pubhc  or  private  persecution.  Apart  from 
the  justice  done  in  this  respect  to  the  principles  of  the 
Austrian  administration,  it  would,  however,  be  a  mis- 
take to  infer  from  this  that  general  dissatisfaction  was 
not  prevalent  in  the  provinces  subject  to  your  Majesty. 
Your  Majesty  has  been  informed  of  this  state  of  things 
by  the  governors  of  the  provinces  and  by  the  presidents 
of  the  police  courts,  and  it  cannot  be  unknown  to  your 
Majesty  that  the  tedious  progress  of  business ;  the 
design  attributed  to  your  Majesty  of  wishing  to  give 
an  entirely  German  character  to  the  Italian  provinces  ; 
the  composition  of  the  courts,  where  the  Italians  daily 
see  with  sorrow  German  magistrates  appointed  to  offices  ; 
and  the  prolongation  of  the  controversies  between  the 
Vienna  Court  and  the  Papal  See,  are  the  main  causes  to 
which  this  discontent  is  ascribed.  Since  these  causes 
appear  to  me  to  be  all  more  or  less  of  a  kind  capable 
of  removal,  and  since  the  paternal  views  of  your  Ma- 
jesty have  in  this  respect  long  been  known  to  me,  I 
think  it  my  duty  to  repeat  again,  with  the  greatest 
respect,  how  important  it  would  be,  from  a  political 


104  INTERNAL   CONDITION   OF  ITALY. 

point  of  view,  to  remove  as  soon  as  possible  these 
defects  and  shortcomings  of  the  administration  in  this 
most  interesting  part  of  the  monarchy,  to  quicken  and 
advance  the  progress  of  business,  to  concihate  the 
national  spirit  and  self-love  of  the  nation  by  giving  to 
these  provinces  a  form  of  constitution  which  might 
prove  to  the  Italians  that  we  have  no  desire  to  deal 
with  them  exactly  as  with  the  German  provinces  of  the 
monarchy,  or,  so  to  speak,  to  weld  them  with  those  pro- 
vinces ;  that  we  should  there  appoint,  and  especially  in  the 
magisterial  offices,  able  natives  of  the  country,  and  that, 
above  all,  an  endeavour  should  be  made  to  unite  more 
closely  with  ourselves  the  clergy  and  the  class  of  writers 
who  have  most  influence  on  public  opinion.  I  do  not 
doubt  that  it  is  possibia  to  attain  this  most  desirable 
and  beneficial  end  without  encountering  great  difficulties, 
and  even  without  being  exposed  to  the  necessity  of  de- 
parting from  those  general  principles  upon  which  the 
administration  of  the  other  parts  of  the  monarchy  are 
based — principles  which  unquestionably  must  be  pre- 
served in  the  interests  of  the  common  weal,  though  theu' 
application  may  admit  of  many  modifications.  I  cherish, 
lastly,  the  hope  that  whenever  your  Majesty  is  induced 
to  set  in  motion  the  salutary  designs  long  contemplated, 
and  to  establish  the  well-being  of  these  provinces  on  an 
enduring  basis,  public  opinion  will  declare  itself  for 
Austria,  discontent  will  disappear  with  its  causes,  and 
the  Italians  will  at  last  regard  Austria  as  the  only 
Government  which  can  afford  a  sure  support  to  public 
tranquillity.  If  ever  this  day  should  come,  then  the 
influence  of  foreigners  will  cease  to  be  feared,  and  we 
shall  gain  one  far  more  essential  with  our  neighbours — 
the  influence  given  by  opinion. 


R^SUM^.  105 


Metternich  to  the  Emperor  Francis,  Grdtz, 
November  8,  1817. 

24:Q.  I  liave  the  honour  to  submit  to  your  Ma- 
jesty in  the  accompanying  documents  the  results  of 
the  labours  which  I  undertook  in  Italy,  and  of  the 
observations  which  I  there  made.  That  my  chief  work, 
which  I  enclose  with  this  (No.  245),  is  drawn  up  with 
perfect  truth,  and  contains  a  faithful  picture  of  the 
present  state  of  things  in  Italy — for  this  I  vouch.  The 
result  of  my  observation,  which  has  grown  to  be  abso- 
lute conviction,  is  that  the  Austrian  Government  has 
only  to  observe  a  steady  course  in  order  to  play  in  Italy 
apart  to  which  your  Majesty  is  in  every  respect  called. 
A  great  work  has  been  done  by  the  new  relations  in 
which  your  Majesty  has  placed  the  Government  of  the 
Lombardo-Venetian  kingdom.  In  consequence  of  this 
constitution  public  opinion  will  pronounce  entirely  in 
favour  of  your  Majesty,  and  in  these  measures  hes  all 
the  good  which  we  are  entitled  to  require  of  adminis- 
trative measures  ;  they  fulfil  naturally  the  just  wishes 
of  a  nation,  and  they  are  of  a  nature  to  strengthen  the 
power  of  a  Government.  This  purpose  can  always  be 
attained  in  the  ways  now  indicated. 

In  our  Itahan  provinces  there  prevails  at  this  moment 
the  greatest  dissatisfaction  with  the  measure — in  itself 
very  natural,  and  supported  by  sohd  grounds — for  the  ex- 
tension of  the  general  custom-house  laws  to  these  coun- 
tries. This  extension  has  been  made  with  a  view  to  local 
demands  and  local  relations ;  against  which  nothing  can 
be  said.  Wherein,  then,  do  the  difficulties  (among 
which  I  include  some  natural  and  easily  obviated  griev- 
ances) consist  ?   A  casual  conversation  with  the  President 


106  INTERNAL   CONDITION   OF   ITALY, 

of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  has  given  me  information 
on  this  point. 

In  the  Lombardo-Yenetian  province  there  is  httle 
taste  for  manufactures  :  most  of  the  articles  in  daily 
use  Italy  imports  from  foreign  countries.  France  and 
England  have  made  the  greatest  advances  in  manu- 
factures. These  two  States,  with  an  industry  pecuhar 
to  them,  supply  all  the  markets  of  Italy.  In  Austria, 
too,  the  manufacturing  spirit  is  in  a  tor^^id  condition. 
Our  manufacturers  care  but  little  to  make  themselves 
known  in  foreign  countries,  and  the  Italian  provinces 
were  and  are  in  this  respect  for  Bohemia  and  Austria 
still  foreign  countries.  Now  we  have  made  such  decrees 
for  protection  and  j)rohibition  that  none  of  our  manu- 
factures are  known  in  Italy.  The  merchant  beyond  the 
Alps,  therefore,  naturally  thinks  himself  abandoned  and 
neglected.  Impressed  with  a  feeling  of  this  great  dis- 
advantage, the  Board  of  Trade  now  makes  arrangements 
to  send  samples  and  patterns  to  Italy. 

The  sending  of  samples,  the  renewal  of  correspon- 
dence between  the  retail  dealers  of  Milan  and  the 
manufacturers  of  Bohemia,  ought  to  have  been  the  first 
measure.  The  Government  ought  to  have  taken  care 
that  on  the  day  of  the  prohibition  the  Italian  merchants 
had  had  before  their  eyes  the  equally  good  and  equally 
cheap,  if  not  cheaper,  wares.  The  second  measure 
would  then  have  been  quite  naturally  the  prohibition 
of  foreign  wares,  and  this  would  have  silenced  the  out- 
cry, or  reduced  it  to  an  empty  groundless  criticism  of 
a  few  ill-affected  persons. 

I  will  venture  to  touch  on  another  circumstance 
which  deeply  affects  the  minds  of  your  Majesty's  Italian 
subjects. 

Your  Majesty  is  too  well  acquainted  with  the  state  of 


METTERNICH   TO   THE   EMPEROR  FRANCIS.  107 

things  in  Italy  not  to  be  aware  that,  in  nearly  the  whole  of 
the  peninsula,  it  is  the  custom  in  all  the  most  cultivated 
classes  to  send  the  sons  who  are  destined  for  literary  or 
commercial  professions  to  Tuscany  for  instruction  in  the 
language.  If  your  Majesty  will  authorise  the  provincial 
guilds  in  Tuscany  to  grant  permission  for  the  study  ol 
the  Humaniora  to  young  people  from  ten  to  twelve 
years  old  on  the  representation  of  their  parents,  without 
further  interrogation,  this  would  produce  an  excellent 
impression  on  the  cultivated  part  of  the  community, 
and  it  would  be  a  great  object  to  the  Government  to 
retain  business  men  who  are  masters  of  the  Italian  lan- 
guage. This  remark  is  the  more  important  as  the  edu- 
cational arrangements  in  the  monarchy  are  not  only 
such  as  to  interfere  with  or  prevent  the  journeys  of 
young  people,  but  even  those  of  foreigners  and  strangers. 


108 


ANNALS  OF  LITERATURE. 

247.  Metternicli  to  Professor  Matthiius  von  Collin,  December  10,  1817. 

248.  Metternicli  to  Carl  Bottiger,  December  27,  1817. 

247.  His  Majesty  the  Emperor  lias  commissioned 
me  to  take  the  new  literary  journal  under  my  imme- 
diate though  unacknowledged  direction. 

The  notice  I  herewith  enclose  may  therefore,  with 
the  shght  alterations  I  have  made,  immediately  appear.* 

The  contract  is  concluded  with  the  Messrs.  Gerold, 
the  publishers, 

I  appoint  you,  sir,  to  be  chief  editor. 

As  second  editor  I  appoint  M.  Pilat.  It  will  be  his 
business  to  be  entirely  at  your  disposal,  and  to  act  as 
middleman  whenever  it  happens  that  you  are  prevented 
from  direct  intercourse  with  me.  The  conduct  of  the 
business,  however,  rests,  sir,  entirely  with  you. 

The  criticism  of  the  journal  may  be  divided  into 

*  The  object  of  the  Jahrbiic/ier  may  be  inferred  from  this  notice : 
'  Everything  properly  considered  as  belonging  to  the  duty  of  a  literary 
journal  will  also  be  the  object  of  this  Jahrbiic/ier.  It  will  endeavour  to  in- 
clude reviews  of  the  most  important  writings  by  contemporaries  in  the  whole 
sphere  of  knowledge  ;  impartial  criticism  will  be  its  first  law  and  the  gro'ond- 
work  of  our  best  efforts. 

'  The  Jahrbiicher  will  devote  especial  attention  to  the  encouragement  of 
knowledge  in  the  Austrian  States,  where  great  industry  is  already  shown  by 
the  learned  men  of  the  Fatherland  in  many  branches  of  knowledge,  and 
there  is  a  great  increase  in  the  peculiarly  Italian  literature ;  it  will  also 
strive  to  bring  before  its  readers  those  works  in  every  literature  by  which 
science  or  art  can  be  advanced.  The  object  of  this  institution  is  especially 
this  :  to  give  a  satisfactory  survey  of  the  most  important  of  the  great  and 
noble  works  of  contemporaries  who,  however  divided  by  national  peculiari- 
ties, are  all  led  by  one  and  the  same  aspiration  for  the  advancement  of 
knowledge.'— Ed. 


JAHRBtJCHEE   DER   LITERATUR.  109 

two  parts.  To  the  political  j)art  I  will  myself  attend. 
The  literary  and  scientific  part  will  be  entrusted  to  one 
who  was  well  known  when  President  of  the  Chief  Court 
of  Police.  The  necessary  introduction  I  will  forward 
without  delay. 

In  carrying  out  this  matter  and  in  all  measures  ne- 
cessary for  the  conduct  of  the  business,  I  shall,  sir, 
always  await  your  reports  and  suggestions. 

Metternich  to  Carl  Bottiger,  Vienna,  December  27,  1817. 

248.  I  have  received  your  esteemed  letter  and  first 
literary  report,  and  read  them  with  great  j)leasure.  I 
beg  of  you  to  continue  the  same  and  to  rest  assured  of 
my  gratitude. 

In  the  enclosure  you  will  find  an  invitation  to  take 
part  in  an  undertaking  long  proposed  and  always  de- 
sired by  yourself.  The  new  journal  rejoices  in  the  pro- 
tection of  the  Government.  The  first  expenses  of  an 
institution  which  can  onl}^  be  maintained  by  its  success 
will  be  granted  on  the  part  of  the  State.  His  Majesty 
the  Emperor,  from  a  feeling  of  the  utility  of  the  more 
than  ever  laborious  work  of  which  the  truly  learned 
men  of  the  present  day  are  capable,  will  furnish  the  ne- 
cessary funds  for  the  undertakings  of  our  most  eminent 
men  in  particular  departments  of  science  and  literature. 
This  is  the  only  kind  of  interference  suitable  for  the 
Government.  The  character  of  the  learned  men  who 
have  been  invited  to  join  in  the  editorship  will  ensure 
that  the  criticisms  in  the  Jahrhilcher  der  Literatur  shall 
always  be  of  a  thoroughly  learned  and  truly  cosmo- 
politan character.  I  should,  however,  not  have  thought 
it  proper,  sir,  to  send  you  this  invitation  myself  if  I 
had  not  been  encouraged  to  do  so  by  my  former  personal 
acquaintance.     Receive,  &c. 


110 


RESULTS  OF  THE  NEGOTIATION  WITH  ROME  ON 
ECCLESIASTICAL  AFFAIRS. 

249,  Metternicli  to  the  Emperor  Francis,  Vienna,  December  1817. 

249.  When  I  left  Vienna  for  Florence  last  June  the 
chief  subjects  of  negotiation  with  the  Holy  See  with 
which  I  was  charged  by  your  Majesty  were  the  fol- 
lowing : — 

{a)  His  Holiness  to  renounce  the  right  he  has 
hitherto  held  of  nominating  archbishops,  bishops,  and 
other  dignitaries  in  the  former  Eepublics  of  Venice  and 
Eagusa. 

{b)  The  practice  to  be  given  up  of  requiring  the 
newly  appointed  Italian  bishops  to  go  to  Eome  to  have 
their  appointments  confirmed  by  the  Pope. 

(c)  The  proceedings  against  the  preconisation  of  the 
newly  appointed  Bishop  of  Brlinn  to  be  given  up,  and 
the  misunderstanding  removed  with  regard  to  the  Bishop 
of  Munkatsch. 

{d)  The  differences  to  be  arranged  which  had  arisen 
on  the  part  of  the  Pope,  as  to  the  oath  to  be  taken  by 
the  Austrian  bishops  at  their  installation,  and  the  cere- 
monies to  be  observed  thereat. 

(e)  The  reservations  to  be  made  for  the  preservation 
of  our  ricfhts  on  the  cession  of  the  clerical  jurisdiction 
hitherto  practised  on  Piedmontese  territory  by  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Milan  and  Bishop  of  Pavia. 

(f)  The  Papal  confirmation  to  be  obtained  for  the 


NEGOTIATIONS  WITH  ROME,  111 

new  dioceses  arranged  by  your  Majesty  in  the  States  of 
Lombardy  and  Venice,  in  Tyrol  and  Vorarlberg. 

Your  Majesty  knows  the  reasons  why  I  thought  it 
best  not  to  make  use  of  your  Majesty's  kind  permission 
to  go  to  Eome,  which  reasons  restricted  me  to  a  con- 
fidential correspondence  with  the  Cardinal  Secretary  of 
State,  Consalvi,  and  this  at  a  most  unfavourable  time* 
in  consequence  of  the  illness  of  the  Pope  and  the  un- 
usual compliance  just  then  shown  by  France  towards 
the  Holy  See  in  the  formation  of  a  concordat.  I  am, 
however,  happy  to  be  able  to  inform  your  Majesty  that 
all  these  points  have  been  arranged  according  to  your 
Majesty's  wishes,  except  concerning  the  journey  of  the 
newly  appointed  Italian  bishops  to  Eome  ;  and  with 
regard  to  this  latter  point,  such  modifications  have  been 
arranged  that  (by  putting  aside  the  qucestio  juris  to  be 
decided  at  a  more  favourable  opportunity)  there  is  every 
hope  of  attaining  the  aim  de  facto. 

With  regard  to  this,  the  folloAving  explanations  will 
give  further  details  : — • 

{a)  His  Holiness  the  Pope  has  not  only  agreed  to 
the  renunciation  in  question  but  has  issued  a  bull,  by 
virtue  of  which  the  sovereign  right  of  your  Majesty  and 
your  successors  is  acknowledged  for  ever — the  right, 
that  is,  to  nominate  the  Patriarch  of  Venice  and  all 
archbishops  and  bishops  in  the  whole  territory  of  the 
former  Eepublics  of  Venice  and  Eagusa,  as  far  as  they 
are  incorporated  in  the  Austrian  kingdom. 

{b)  Unsuccessful  attempts  have  been  made  to  induce 

•  Metternich  reported  to  the  Emperor  Francis  from  Florence,  July  19, 
1817  : — '  The  Pope's  health  is  always  in  the  same  very  uncertain  condition. 
The  state  of  things  in  Home,  however,  is  such  that  we  shall  gradually  gain 
all  reasonable  objects  without  an  actual  negotiation.  My  non-appearance 
in  Rome  causes  much  surprise,  and  I  make  use  of  this  feeling  in  the  way 
which  seems  to  me  most  useful.' — Ed. 


112  NEGOTIATIONS    WITH   ROME. 

the  Eoman  Court  to  declare  that  the  newly  appomted 
bishops  in  Lombardy  and  Yenetia  are  exempt  from  the 
obligation  that  binds  all  other  Itahan  bishops  to  go  to 
Eome  to  have  their  appointments  confirmed,  but  we 
have  been  given  to  understand,  confidentially,  that  his 
Holiness  may  probably  be  willing  to  grant  dispensations 
in  single  cases,  where  the  newly  appointed  bishop,  from 
age,  weakness,  or  want  of  means,  is  unable  to  take  the 
journey  to  Rome. 

(c)  The  Bishops  of  Briinn  and  Munkatsch  nominated 
by  your  Majesty  have,  in  consequence  of  the  negotia- 
tions, already  received  the  Pope's  confirmation  with  the 
bulls  referring  to  it,  and  consequently  have  taken  their 
episcopal  seats. 

(d)  The  Eoman  Court  makes  no  further  objection  to 
the  explanation  as  to  the  oath  of  the  bishops  and  the 
ceremonies  observed  at  their  installation,  and  has  tacitly 
acknowledged  the  practice  by  giving  the  apostolic  con- 
firmation to  the  above-named  Bishops  of  Briinn  and  Mun- 
katsch without  insisting  upon  an  alteration  of  the  usual 
oaths  and  ceremonies. 

(e)  In  order  to  be  secured  against  the  disadvantages 
which  might  have  arisen  from  giving  up  the  clerical 
jurisdiction  hitherto  practised  by  the  Bishops  of  Milan 
and  Pavia,  an  ofiicial  declaration  has  been  obtained  from 
the  Court  of  Turin  that  this  renunciation  shall  have  no 
effect  whatever  on  the  temporalities  and  corporations, 
seminaries  and  religious  institutions,  which  have  had 
property,  personal  or  otherwise,  or  drawn  their  revenues 
from  Piedmontese  territory,  but  that  they  shall  con- 
tinue in  their  undisturbed  possession  and  enjoyment. 

(/)  His  Holiness  has  declared  his  willingness  to 
sanction  the  new  division  into  dioceses  as  arranged  by 
your  Majesty,  and  to  send  the  bulls  concerning  it  as 


NEGOTL\TIONS   WITH   ROME.  113 

soon  as  the  documents  still  wanting  have  arrived  in 
Rome.  These  documents  I  shall  therefore  despatch 
immediately.* 

*  Besides  the  measupes  mentioned  in  this  paragraph,  referring  to  the 
regulation  of  the  home  atiairs  of  the  Empire,  Metternich  had  a  great  influence 
on  many  other  arrangements  of  importance  for  the  Empire,  although  docu- 
mentary evidence  of  the  same  is  not  forthcoming.  Thus  Tyrol  got  back  its  old 
constitution  of  States;  Dalmatia  was  divided  into  five  districts;  the  kingdom  of 
Illyria  was  formed  of  Carinthia,  Carniola,  and  parts  of  the  maritime  States; 
all  the  provinces  of  Austria  in  Germany  were  declared  parts  of  the  German 
Confederation,  &c.  All  these  arrangements  were  brought  about  by  the  co- 
operation of  Metternich  during  the  first  years  of  peace,  181G  and  1817. 

A  statesman  of  Prince  Metternich's  character,  who  enjoyed  the  full  con- 
fidence of  his  monarch,  and  possessed  a  great  amount  of  experience  gained 
in  dirticidt  times,  as  a  matter  of  course  extended  his  care  to  the  internal 
development  of  the  Empire,  because  of  the  close  connection  of  the  internal 
condition  with  the  foreign  aflairs  with  which  he  was  entrusted.  But  the 
nature  of  a  well-arranged  official  organisation  accounts  for  the  fact  that  only 
on  rare  and  very  important  occasions  are  any  documents  to  be  found  by  the 
head  of  a  department  on  subjects  foreign  to  his  sphere  of  action.  For  the 
personal  intercourse  with  the  monarch  the  proceedings  at  the  green  table  of 
the  conference,  where  the  interchange  of  ideas  takes  place  verbally,  leave,  as 
a  rule,  no  written  traces — at  least  none  of  a  kind  to  be  accessible  to  future 
inquiry.  Besides,  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  during  Francis's  reign,  no- 
body more  strictly  enforced  the  legal  limits  of  competence  in  his  officials 
than  the  Emperor  P'raucis  himself,  while  during  Ferdinand's  reign  the 
power  of  the  Chancellor  of  State  in  the  home  administration  (much  over- 
estimated by  contemporaries)  was  baffled  by  many  paralysing  influences. 
The  want  of  autobiographical  memoirs  for  this  and  the  next  period,  explains 
our  being  induced  by  the  title  of  the  book  which  here  closes  to  make  these 
short  remarks  (illustrating  the  subject  and  partly  forestalling  its  history)  en 
Metternich's  proceedings  in  the  department  of  home  policy. — Ed 


VOL.  III. 


BOOK  V. 

LUSTEUM    OF    THE    CONGEESS. 
PAPEES  AND  DOCUMENTS. 

1818—1822. 


12 


LUSTRUM  OF  THE  CONGRESS. 


1818. 

THE    WATER-CURE  AT  CARLSBAD. 

Extracts  from  Metternich's  private  Letters  to  his  Family,  from 
July  8  to  August  26,  1818. 

250.  Arrival  at  Carlsbad.  251.  Begins  the  waters.  252.  Arranp-ement  of 
the  day.  253.  Madame  Catalani — Valabregue  aud  Goethe.  254.  From 
Kouigswart — Strassenbau — the  Abbot  of  Tepl.  255.  Anxiety  about 
Metternich's  father.     256.  His  death.     257.  Departure  from  Konigswart. 

Metternich  to  his  Wife,  Carlsbad,  July  8,  1818. 

250.  Here  I  am,  my  clear,  in  this  place  of  charms 
and  delishts.  It  will  deserve  that  name  from  me  the 
day  I  am  thoroughly  re-established  in  health.  I  came 
at  a  deuce  of  a  pace  from  Vienna  here  ;  I  took  only 
forty  hours  on  tlie  journey  ;  they  could  not  do  more  in 
England  or  Italy.  I  left  Collin  at  five  in  the  morning 
yesterday,  passed  three  hours  at  Prague,  and  reached 
Carlsbad  at  midnight  precisely.  The  town  is  overflowing 
with  strangers. 

251.  JnlyW. — I  am  still  expecting  Staudenheim,* 
naturally  enough,  for  he  could  only  arrive  to-day  if  he 
did  not  leave  Vienna  till  Wednesday.  I  do  not  trust 
]\is  talent  as  a  courier  ;  I  have  never  seen  a  little 
man  Uke  him  post  quickly,  and  I  give  him  eighty  liours 

•   I  r.  Staudenheim  was  Count  Metternich's  private  physician. — Ed. 


118     EXTRACTS   FROM  METTERNICH'S  PRIV'ATE  LETTERS. 

to  make  the  same  journey  as  I  did  in  forty.  If  lie  does 
not  arrive  during  this  day,  I  shall  begin  to-morrow  to 
drink  the  Neubrunn.  It  is  the  best  known  and  the 
safest  spring,  although  the  least  powerful.  After  tliat 
I  shall  go  wherever  Staudenheim  wishes  to  take  me ; 
you  know  that  I  always  follow  bhndly  the  advice  of  my 
medical  man.  For  the  rest,  I  shall  begin  my  cure  under 
very  good  auspices.  My  health  is  improved  by  the  jour- 
ney, and  were  it  not  for  a  cursed  lumbago  which  seized 
me  yesterday  when  stooping  to  wash  my  face,  I  should 
be  very  well.  Yesterday  I  could  hardly  walk  ten 
steps  during  the  day.  To-day  I  am  better,  though  still 
suffering  very  much.  I  do  not  know  how  it  is  that  I 
have  the  talent  of  getting  ill  on  every  occasion. 

I  have  arranged  my  manner  of  life  according  to  the 
customs  of  the  place.  I  am  in  bed  every  night  at  half- 
past  ten,  and  I  rise  at  six.  Everybody  is  at  the  waters 
at  half-past  six ;  they  breakfast  at  ten,  dine  at  three, 
and  eat  no  supper. 

252.  July  13. — I  wish  Baden  was  situated  like 
Carlsbad,  which  is  really  charming.  I  have  never  staid 
here  long  enough  to  know  all  the  surroundings  ;  the  roads 
are  all  good  :  during  the  last  twelve  years  they  have  been 
made  on  all  sides.  One  can  now  get  to  Eger  in  three 
hours,  and  consequently  to  Konigswart  *  in  six.  We 
have  the  most  beautiful  weather  :  it  is  very  hot,  and  you 
know  how  I  appreciate  heat  at  this  season.  I  live  en- 
tirely by  rule.  From  six  to  eight  in  the  morning  I  rush 
about  with  seven  or  eight  hundred  persons  like  so 
many  fools.  We  meet  at  nine  for  breakfast,  and  this  is 
very  pleasant ;  the  tables  are  laid  before  the  different 
houses,  and  those  who  hke  join  together ;  so  I  made 
them    take    mine    to    the    door   of  the    house   where 

*  A  property  belonging  to  Count  Metternich. 


CATALANIS   CONCERT.  119 

Schwarzenberg  lives,  for  it  is  better  situated  than  mine  ; 
we  recommence  our  walking  after  breakfast  till  mid- 
day. I  dine  alternately  at  home  and  with  Charles  or 
Joseph  Schwarzenberg.  We  take  every  day,  at  five 
o'clock,  a  walk  of  two  or  three  miles.  I  go  to  the  Salle 
at  eight,  or  I  have  a  whist-party  at  home  ;  and  all  Carls- 
bad is  in  bed  at  ten.  This  way  of  life  would  suit  you 
very  well. 

253.  July  30. — Madame  Catalani  arrived  here  yes- 
terday, having  been  expected  with  much  impatience. 
She  will  give  a  concert  on  the  1st.  I  shall  therefore 
not  leave  till  the  morning  of  the  2nd,  though  I  finish 
my  course  of  waters  to-morrow.  Staudenheim.  who 
never  trifles,  forbids  me  to  drink  them  on  the  1st,  for 
he  says  they  have  made  me  well  and  that  too  much  of 
them  would  be  luxury.  On  the  other  hand,  he  wishes 
Madame  Catalani  to  take  them  with  great  assiduity  for 
thirty  days,  for  she  appears  to  him  an  excellent  subject 
for  Carlsbad.  For  the  concert  tlie  day  after  to-morrow 
the  orchestra  will  be  composed  in  the  following  manner  : 
— Leader  of  the  orchestra  :  an  old  organist  of  the  chapel, 
who  has  been  trying  to  cure  a  liver  complaint  for  three 
years  and  not  succeeded  ;  clavichord :  a  Prince  de  Biron, 
who  always  lies,  except  when  he  says  he  plays  this 
instrument  well ;  first  violin :  a  Saxon  Colonel ;  second 
violin :  a  Prussian  Captain  ;  violoncello  :  the  Prussian 
General  Count  de  Hacke.  We  are  still  in  search  of 
other  instruments  ;  the  trumpeters  only  are  hired.  They 
are  the  keepers  of  the  great  court,  who  announce  the 
arrival  of  visitors  with  the  sound  of  the  trumpet.  If 
this  concert  creates  a  furore,  it  will  be  fortunate  ! 

At  the  first  rehearsal  of  the  concert,  which  took 
place  at  my  house,  Goethe  arrived.  I  introduced  him 
to  Madame  Catalani,  saying  he  was  a  man  of  whom  Ger- 


120     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

many  was  proud.  Valabregue  *  asked  me,  '  Who  is 
Goethe  ? '  I  told  him  that  he  was  the  author  of 
'  Werther.'  The  unhappy  man  did  not  forget  this ;  for 
lo  and  behold !  some  days  afterwards  he  went  up  to 
him  and  said :  '  My  dear  Goethe,  what  a  pity  it  is  you 
could  not  see  Potier  in  the  part  of  "  Werther! "'  It  would 
have  made  you  burst  with  laughing.' 

254.  Konigswart^  August  3. — I  came  here  yesterday, 
and  I  shall  remain  until  the  5th.  Besides,  Franzensbrunn 
is  so  near  that  I  hope  often  to  return  here,  in  order  that 
I  may  see  that  the  most  is  made  of  the  new  establish- 
ment at  Marienbad,  which  is  a  real  godsend  for  this 
property.  Within  the  last  three  years  I  have  added 
more  than  four  thousand  toises  (six  feet)  of  roads.  Now, 
one  is  able  to  go  from  Eger  to  where  the  road  branches 
off  from  the  Sandau  and  Altwasser  road  to  the  chateau 
on  one  of  the  finest  roads  possible,  and  I  am  going  to 
have  it  planted  with  trees.  The  peasants,  who  formerly 
destroyed  all  the  trees,  are  now  beginning  to  preserve 
them.  We  must  next  make  a  road  from  Grossich- 
dichfur  to  Marienbad,  and  this  road  will  be  costly,  on 
account  of  a  steep  hill  in  the  Walderl  which  it  must 
avoid.  I  shall  finisli  it,  however,  in  less  than  a  year. 
The  Abbot  of  Tepl,  who  is  coming  to  dine  with  me  to- 
day, ought  to  contribute  towards  it.  This  Abbot  is  ter- 
ribly afraid  of  me ;  I  do  not  know  how  the  absurd 
story  has  been  spread  through  the  country,  that  the 
Abbey  is  to  be  secularised,  and  that  tlie  Emperor  wishes 
to  make  me  a  present  of  it.  I  contradict  it  in  vain,  the 
noble  convent  trembles  none  the  less,  and  I  can  obtain 
from  it  all  which  is  just  and  reasonable,  in  consequence 
of  its  dread  that  the  Emperor  may  be  unjust  and  myself 
unreasonable.     The  Konigswart  property  is  at  any  rate 

*  Catalani's  hu8l)and. 


ILLNESS   OF  METTERNICH'S  FATHER.  121 

much  improved  by  the  neighbourhood   of  these  new 
waters. 

Metternich  to  his  Mother,  Fra?izensbad,  August  13. 

255.  It  is  with  a  broken  heart,  my   dear  mother, 
that  I  write  to  you  in  the  most  painful  moment  of  my 
hfe  and  yours.     A  letter  wliich  I  received  to-day  from 
my  wife  does  not  allow  me  to   hope    for  my   father's 
restoration  to  liealth.     From  all  I  hear  I  feel  sure  that 
he  is  dying  the  death  which  nature  has  reserved  for 
advanced  age — a  gentle  death,  free  from  tlie  suffering 
which  accompanies  acute  disease.     If  I  consulted  only 
my  own  feelings,  I  should  start  immediately  for  Vienna, 
but  everything  is  against  my  doing  so.     Staudenheim 
actuahy  forbids  me  interrupting   the  cure  which    lias 
begun,  and  which  promises  the  most  satisfactory  results. 
He  declares  that  the  waters  here  must  not  be  interrupted 
in  their  course,  and  that  by  interrupting  them  I  should 
undergo  all  the  inconveniences  he  is  anxious  to  avoid. 
And  should   I  find  my   father,  even  if  I  set   off  imme- 
diately ?     Everything  is  arranged   for   my  journey  and 
arrival  on  tlie   Rhine  before  the  end  of  the  month.     I 
shall  find  there  all  the  men  whom  I   ought  to  meet  be- 
fore the  meeting  at  Aix-la-Chapelle,  and  the  delay  which 
attends  this  meeting,  far  from  being  inconvenient,  may 
be  of  incalculable  advantage  in  its  results.     In  conclu- 
sion, should  I  be  performing  a  duty  which  would  benefit 
my  poor  father  ?     Would   not  my   sudden  arrival    do 
more  harm  than  good  ?     This  is  the  consideration  which 
has  most  weight   with   me,  but  the  sad  event  which  we 
are  now   expecting  could  not  have  happened  at  a  mo- 
ment more  painful  to  me.     If  my  father  should  live,  and 
expresses  a  desire  to  see  me,  were  it  only  for  one  moment, 
I  would  put  aside  all  tliese  considerations  and  come  to 


122     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICirS   PPJVATE   LETTERS. 

you.  A  moment's  happiness  in  this  world  would  not 
encroach  on  the  eternal  joy  which  awaits  him. 

You  see,  my  good  mother,  it  is  for  you  to  direct 
and  decide  Avhat  I  ou£jht  to  do.  There  are  times  in 
which  it  is  scarcely  possible  oneself  to  know  ]iow  to  act 
for  the  best. 

If  the  sad  event  takes  place,  apply  to  Bartenstein 
for  everything.  I  have  given  him  full  directions.  My 
brother  lias  written  to  me  (for  which  I  beg  you  to  thank 
him)  to  assure  me  that  he  will  do  all  he  possibly  can. 
I  beheve  I  thought  of  everything  in  my  last  letter  to 
Bartenstein. 

I  would  strongly  advise  you  to  go  and  join  my 
family  at  Baden.  You  will  be  better  there  than  at 
Salzburg;  you  will  avoid  the  trouble  of  along  journey, 
and  will  feel  at  liome. 

...  In  conclusion,  my  dear  mother,  take  care  of 
yourself,  and  remember  that,  if  you  can  do  no  more  for 
him,  you  owe  it  to  us  to  tliink  of  yourself. 

My  poor  father  in  leaving  this  world  will  at  least 
have  tlie  consolation  that  I  have  never  given  him  a 
moment  of  unhappiness,  and  this  is  the  sweetest  feeling 
of  my  life.  He  cannot  refuse  me  his  blessing,  and  I 
shall  know  how  to  deserve  it. 

Adieu,  my  dear  good  mother.  I  embrace  you,  and 
implore  you  not  so  much  to  think  of  yourself  as  of  all 
of  us, 

256.  Franzensbrunn,  August  14. — I  wrote  yester- 
day, my  dear  mother,  in  all  the  anxiety  of  a  painful 
uncertainty  ;  to-day,  when  I  have  received  the  news  of 
the  loss  we  have  sustained,  I  can  only  repeat  what  I 
said  to  you  yesterday.  Although  the  blow  was  expected, 
it  is  not  the  less  dreadful.  The  courier  arrived  yester- 
day just  as  I  was  going  to  bed.     It  consoles  me  for  my 


DEATH   OF   METTER^'ICH'S   FATHER.  123 

absence  to  think  that  my  poor  father  was  unconscious. 
He  died  Avithoiit  perceiving  that  he  was  treading  tlie 
valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  and  he  felt  none  of  its 
horrors — a  happy  death,  not  reserved  for  everyone  ! 

...  I  have  ordered  here  everything  necessary  for 
depositing  the  remains  of  my  father,  as  far  as  arranging 
a  more  suitable  place  of  repose  than  the  tomb  which 
now  exists  in  the  parish  of  Konigswart.  I  intend  to 
make  a  place  of  sepulture  which  will  one  day  contain 
us  all.  Those  who  ought  not  to  be  separated  in  this 
world  should  not  be  isolated  in  their  last  resting-place. 
I  have  ordered  obsequies  in  all  the  parishes,  here  as 
well  as  at  Ochsenhausen  and  in  Moravia.  If  my  father 
needed  prayers  to  assist  him  to  his  place  in  the  other 
world,  those  of  his  own  people  will  not  be  wanting.'"'    . 

Adieu,  ray  dear  mother.  May  God  preserve  you  for 
many  years,  and  give  you  in  this  heavy  trial  that 
streng^th  of  mind  wliich  should  never  abandon  us,  even 
in  the  most  trying  moments.  I  charge  all  my  family, 
who  are  no  less  yours,  with  those  duties  which  I  should 
have  desired  to  fulfil  myself. 

Metternich  to  his  Wife^  Konigswart^  August  26. 

257.  I  write  to  you,  my  dear  Laura,  a  few  hours 
before  my  departure.  I  am  feeling  very  sad.  Every- 
thing which  separates  us  is  painful  to  me,  and  I  feel 
more  and  more  every  day  the  pain  of  being  separated 
from  my  dear  little  family.  I  should  like  to  have  you 
always  with  me,  or  never  to  leave  Vienna.  Few  Hves 
are  so  fatiguing  as  those  which  are  spent  in  the  higliest 
walks  of  life,  and  in  the  midst  of  important  and  intri- 
cate affairs.  Formerly  these  affairs  could  be  carried  on 
quietly.     How  many  difficulties  there  are  in  my  career, 

*  See  on  the  same  subject  No.  283. — Ed. 


124    EXTRACTS  FROM  METTERNICHS   PRWATE  LETTERS. 

and  how  different   are  they    from  those  of  all  former 
ministers,  and  perhaps  even  from  those  to  come ! 

I  shall  be  at  Frankfurt  on  the  29th,  and  spend  two 
busy  days  there.  I  shall  have  the  entire  Diet  on  my 
hands.  I  know  already  that  most  of  the  ministers 
there  are  trembling  at  my  appearance ;  of  my  forty- 
eight  hours  I  shall  take  at  least  from  twelve  to  fifteen 
to  lecture  the  well-intentioned  and  to  do  justice  to 
those  who  are  not.  My  two  days  at  Frankfurt  will, 
however,  be  worth  at  least  a  hundred  as  far  as  business 
is  concerned. 

On  the  1st  I  shall  go  to  see  the  Duke  of  Nassau, 
and  from  there  go  on  to  Johannisberg.  The  Duke  has 
paid  me  many  attentions,  and  deserves  at  least  a  visit 
from  me  in  return.  They  write  to  me  from  Frankfurt 
that  he  has  a  hundred  men  at  work  making  a  road  as 
far  as  the  chdteau  from  the  point  where  one  leaves  the 
main  road.  The  monks  of  Fulda  had  taken  care  to 
leave  this  road  impracticable,  for  fear  of  attracting  too 
many  visitors.  My  cellars  being  empty,  I  do  not  run 
the  same  risk,  and  I  prefer  some  toises  of  a  good  road 
to  many  bottles  of  wine.  He  has,  moreover,  ordered 
his  keepers  to  furnish  me  with  game,  and  his  gardeners 
with  the  fruits  of  his  forests  and  gardens.  As  I  shall 
probably  only  remain  there  a  short  time,  I  shall  make 
no  great  ravages  in  cither  the  one  or  the  other. 

I  am  also  informed  that,  since  the  inhabitants  on  the 
banks  of  the  Eliine  have  learnt  that  the  Emperor  is 
coming  down  the  river,  they  have  been  making  immense 
preparations  along  the  whole  route.  It  is  no  doubt  the 
part  of  Europe  where  the  Emperor  is  most  loved,  more 
even  than  in  our  own  country.  The  whole  scene  will 
be  admirable.  The  Emperor  will  have  a  real  fleet. 
There  is  not  one  more  yacht  or  boat  to  be  hired  on 


THE   EMPEROR'S   VOYAGE   DOWN   THE   RHINE.      125 

the  river  ;  all  are  taken  by  the  people  Uving  on  the 
banks,  and  the  whole  population  will  be  on  the  river 
side.  I  foresaw  this,  and  I  believe  it  will  be  a  success. 
These  demonstrations  prove  better  than  the  Jena  news- 
papers what  is  the  opinion  of  the  people.  We  shall 
have  a  splendid  article  for  the  '  Observer.' 

I  wish  you  were  all  with  me,  my  dear  ones ! 


126 


JOURNEY  TO   THE  RHINE. 

Extracts  from  Metternich's  private  Letters,  from  August  31  to 
September  24,  1818. 

258.  Arrival  in  Frankfurt — illness,  259.  Metternich's  appearance  at  the 
Bundestage.  260.  The  result — Staudenheiin  on  the  Prince  of  Hesse- 
Ilomburg.  261.  First  visit  to  Johanuisberg.  262.  Description  of  Co- 
blentz.  263.  Project  for  the  erection  of  a  national  monument — the 
'  VoUis-sagen  ' — the  '  Bromser  von  Riidesheim ' — made  Duke  of  Portella. 
264.  From  Mayence — arrival  of  the  Emperor  Francis.  265.  From  Bingen 
— splendid  scenes  on  the  Rhine — feeling  for  the  Emperor  Francis — 
dinner  to  the  Emperor  at  Johannisberg. 

Mett^rnichto  his   Wife,  Frankfurt,  August  31,  1818. 

258.  I  arrived  here  comfortably,  my  dear,  the  day 
before  yesterday,  in  the  evening,  and  ahghted  as  usual 
at  Mulhens'  house,  where  I  am  lodged  as  I  should  like  to 
be  all  my  life.  One  cannot  understand  how  a  little  re- 
tired grocer  has  had  the  taste  to  build  and  furnish  a 
house  like  this,  nor  how  a  man  so  avaricious  could  spend 
six  hundred  thousand  florins  to  be  well  housed. 

Yesterday  I  spent  the  most  agreeable  morning  in  the 
world.  From  ten  till  four,  I  received  all  the  Confede- 
ration, deputations  from  the  magistrates,  corps  diplo- 
matique, &c.  To  increase  the  pleasure,  I  had  caught  on 
the  way,  from  the  intense  cold  and  infernal  damp,  one 
of  my  nice  colds  in  the  head,  and  as  the  Diet  in  corpore 
is  not  made  to  heal  anything,  I  was  obliged  to  go  to 
bed  in  the  evening  and  try  to  get  into  a  perspiration. 
Staudenheim,  who  never  trifles,  told  me  this  morning  that 
I  had  better  remain  in  bed  all  day,  and  I,  a  gentle  in- 
valid, submit. 


JOHANNISBERG.  127 

I  shall  stay  here  to-morrow  and  the  day  after,  and 
go  to  Johannisberg  on  the  3rd.  One  has  no  idea  of 
the  difference  of  the  climate  of  this  country  from  our 
own.  I  was  ready  to  die  of  cold  in  Bohemia,  and  here 
we  have  not  had  one  single  cool  day.  It  has  rained  for 
eight  days,  and  been  warm  all  the  time,  which  is  very 
promising  for  the  wine.  I  have  had  extravagant  offers 
for  the  vineyards  of  Johannisberg,  but  I  have  refused 
them  all.  One  was  an  offer  of  fifty  thousand  florins  to 
be  paid  immediately,  the  wine  to  be  sealed  and  laid  down 
for  six  years  at  Johannisberg,  then  sold  for  our  com- 
mon benefit — that  is  to  say,  that  I  should  divide  the  pro- 
fits' besides  the  fifty  thousand  florins.  But  I  do  not 
wish  to  divide,  and  I  hold,  moreover,  that  it  is  better  to 
establish  the  reputation  of  the  cellar. 

259.  September  4. — .  .  .  .  You  can  have  no  idea 
of  the  effect  produced  by  my  appearance  at  the  Diet. 
An  affair  which  perhaps  would  never  have  ended  has 
been  concluded  in  three  or  four  days.  I  am  more  and 
more  convinced  that  affairs  of  importance  can  only 
be  properly  conducted  by  oneself.  Everything  done 
second  hand  is  vexatious  and  troublesome,  and  makes 
no  progress.  I  have  become  a  species  of  moral  power 
in  Germany,  and  perhaps  even  in  Europe — a  power 
which  will  leave  a  void  when  it  disappears  :  and  never- 
theless it  will  disappear,  Hke  all  belonging  to  poor  frail 
human  nature.  I  hope  Heaven  will  yet  give  me  time 
to  do  some  good  ;  that  is  my  dearest  wish. 

260.  September  11. — At  last,  my  dear,  I  am  ready 
to,  start.  I  shall  sleep  to-morrow  at  Johannisberg,  and 
go  on  the  following  morning.  I  shall  dine  at  Coblentz, 
and  spend  the  14th  and  15th  there,  and  on  the  16th  I 
shall  return  to  Johannisberg  and  remain  there  till 
the  22nd. 


128     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

I  derive  real  pleasure  from  these  different  journeys  ; 
I  go  to  revisit  tlie  scenes  of  my  youth,  and  I  expect  to 
find  them  changed,  as  I  am  changed  myself.  The  walls 
remain  intact,  but  the  men  have  nearly  all  disappeared. 
I  am  convinced  that  I  shall  not  find  five  persons  of  my 
acquaintance  at  Coblentz  ;  I  will  give  you  all  the  details, 
and  though  they  cannot  interest  you,  they  will  my 
mother.  I  shall  go  and  visit  all  the  spots  she  knows, 
and  where  she  passed  the  best  years  of  her  life.  She 
was  beautiful  and  beloved  there,  and  what  more  is 
necessary  to  make  a  place  pleasant  and  its  remembrance 
dear  ?  Tliis  is  the  good  side  of  women.  We  men  need 
more  to  make  us  carry  away  agreeable  recollections 
of  our  sojourns.  I  count  my  recollections  only  by 
public  affairs,  negotiations,  and  treaties — happy  if  the 
latter  do  not  ruin  me  altogether. 

My  visit  here  has  been  crowned  with  great  success. 
I  arrived  at  Frankfurt  like  the  Messiah  to  save  sinners. 
The  Diet  wears  a  new  aspect  since  I  have  taken  a  part 
in  it,  and  everything  which  seemed  so  impossible  is  con- 
cluded. I  do  not  believe  that  twelve  days  ever  bore 
more  fruit  at  an  equally  important  period.  All  that 
the  intriguers  were  aiming  to  take  to  Aix-la-Chapelle,  to 
interrupt  the  progress  of  affairs,  is  no  longer  in  their 
power.  In  a  word,  I  have  a  conviction  that  I  have 
served  tlie  cause  better  at  this  moment,  which  does  not 
appear  to  offer  immense  advantages,  than  on  twenty 
otlier  more  brilliant  occasions.  This  Avill,  however,  be 
none  the  less  useful. 

I  shall  see  Johannisberg  for  the  first  time  to-morrow, 
and  it  must  be  very  beautiful,  for  all  who  have  seen  it 
rave  about  it.  I  have  seen  it  in  imagination  twenty 
times  :  now  I  am  going  to  see  it  in  reality,  and  I  hope  I 
shall  not  be  disappointed.     I  often  think  of  my  poor 


PRINCE   OF   IIESSE-HOlNIBURa.  129 

father :  he  would  have  taken  a  thousand  times  more 
pleasure  in  the  place  than  I  do  ;  and  it  would  have  been 
worth  more,  because  he  would  have  been  the  proprietor. 
Neither  had  he  the  happiness  of  seeing  a  good  arrange- 
ment for  the  mediatises  which  will  shortly  appear.  I 
promised  it  to  liim  during  my  stay  at  Frankfurt, 
and  felt  that  I  was  fulfilling  a  duty  towards  ]iim  in 
keeping  my  word,  and  I  declare  to  you  I  have  more 
satisfaction  in  that  feeling  than  in  the  thing  itself. 
What  a  happy  time  he  would  have  passed  in  my  place 
this  morning  !  Perhaps  he  envies  me  from  the  other 
world — if  envy  can  be  felt  there — the  hour  I  have  had 
the  misfortune  to  pass  with  an  infernal  M.  de  Schmitz, 
the  man  of  business  to  the  house  of  Linange,  and 
all  the  mediatises  whom  he  adored  when  here  on  earth. 
I  do  not  know  if  at  the  age  of  seventy  I  shall  like 
tiresome  people  and  pedants :  I  certainly  cannot  stand 
them  now.  • 

I  was  present  yesterday  at  a  conference  which  Staud- 
enheim  had  with  the  hereditarv  Prince  of  Hesse-Hom- 
burg.  The  latter  consulted  him  about  a  malady  which 
Staudenheim  declares  to  be  flying  gout,  but  which  with 
the  Prince  takes  the  appearance  of  everything — that  is  to 
say,  it  resembles  insanity.  I  was  sorry  I  had  not  a  short- 
hand writer  with  me  ;  he  would  have  furnished  an  ex- 
cellent chapter  for  a  comic  romance.  The  point  on 
which  the  negotiation  between  the  doctor  and  the 
sick  man  was  broken  off  was  that  of  the  sick  man's 
breakfast.  The  Prince  did  not  wish  to  be  deprived  of 
half  a  yard  of  sausage  with  which  he  was  accustomed 
to  begin  the  labours  of  the  day.  Staudenheim  got  into 
a  rage,  the  Prince  began  to  swear,  and  they  seemed  to 
have  the  sausage  by  the  two  ends,  and  to  be  struggling 
who  should  wrench  it  from  his  adversary*     Stauden.- 

VOL.  III.  K 


130     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

heim  ended  by  carrying  ofl  the  sausage,  and  the  cure  is 
about  to  commence  under  the  auspices  of  the  Princess 
Ehzabeth  of  England. 

261.  Johannisberg,  September  12. — I  have  been 
here,  my  dear  Laura,  since  five  o'clock  this  evening. 
I  arrived  early  enough  to  see  from  my  balcony  twenty 
leagues  of  the  course  of  the  Ehine,  eis^ht  or  ten  towns, 
a  hundred  villages,  and  vineyards  which  this  year  will 
yield  twenty  millions  of  wine,  intersected  by  meadows 
and  fields  like  gardens,  beautiful  oak  woods,  and  an 
immense  plain  covered  with  trees  which  bend  beneath 
the  weight  of  delicious  fruit.  Thus  much  without.  As 
for  within,  I  find  a  large  and  good  house,  of  which 
in  time  a  fine  chdteau  may  be  made :  but  we  are  still 
far  from  having  that.  I  have  spent  nearly  ten  thousand 
florins  in  the  last  two  months  to  make  it  what  may 
fairly  be  called  passable.  My  friend  Handel  has  chosen 
the  paper-hangings  and  furniture.  The  papers  he  has 
put  on  the  walls  are  inconceivable  :  above  all  it  is  in- 
conceivable where  he  could  have  found  what  he  has 
chosen.  The  evil  is,  however,  confined  to  three  rooms  ; 
the  rest  of  the  apartments  are  painted  in  one  colour. 

First  of  all,  I  ran  through  the  chdteau,  the  stables, 
and  places  for  making  the  wine.  I  have  not  visited  the 
cellars,  because  there  is  no  wine  in  them,  and  because  I 
am  just  recovering  from  rheumatic  fever.  I  have  made 
the  acquaintance  of  Father  Arndt,  the  famous  manager 
of  the  place,  and  the  best  of  employes  for  an  estate  of 
this  kind.  Picture  to  yourself  an  old  abbe  of  about 
sixty,  virtuous  from  position,  and  I  believe  by  convic- 
tion, who  has  not  even  the  first  and  commonest  defect 
of  old  monks.  This  good  man  has  such  a  horror  of 
wine  that  he  has  not  drunk  one  bottle  since  he  has  been 
at  Johannisberg ;  yet  he  is  the  best  connoisseur  of  wine 


JOHANNISBEEG.  131 

in  tlie  canton,  but  he  judges  of  it  by  liis  nose.  It  is 
sufficient  for  him  to  smell  a  bottle  of  wine  to  decide  its 
quality,  its  growth,  and  its  year ;  he  can  even  distin- 
tinguish  mixtures,  and  has  never  been  known  to  make 
a  mistake.  Heaven  made  him  for  this  business,  as  he 
was  not  born  a  pointer.  He  reckons  on  forty-six  casks 
this  year,  at  least :  when  he  adds  this  phrase,  it  is  un- 
derstood in  the  country  that  forty-six  means  fifty-two. 

I  am  here  with  Floret,  who  only  regrets  that  the 
year  1817  was  so  bad,  and  that  he  cannot  find  a  small 
remnant  from  the  preceding  years  ;  Swoboda,  who 
does  not  believe  that  beyond  the  frontiers  of  our 
beautiful  kingdom  there  can  be  a  tolerable  country ; 
and  M.  de  Handel,  proud  as  Artabanus  of  the  choice  he 
has  made  of  the  furniture.  He  has  particularly  drawn 
my  attention  to  a  cupid,  which  unfortunately  has  all 
its  Hmbs  dislocated,  and  which  is  conspicuous  above 
one  of  the  doors  from  its  excited  attitude.  He  seems 
to  have  drunk  all  that  Father  Arndt  has  not  drunk. 
Handel  boasts,  too,  of  his  choice  of  a  great  round  table, 
the  top  of  which  weighs  a  hundred  pounds,  and  which 
rests  on  a  crane's  foot  so  small  that  Gentz  will  never 
enter  the  room  in  which  it  stands  for  fear  of  being 
maimed. 

I  hope  to  start  to-morrow  at  ten  in  the  morning,  so 
as  to  arrive  at  Coblentz  at  six  in  the  evening. 

Metternich  to  his  Mother,  Coblentz,  September  15. 

262.  I  must  write  to  you,  my  dear  mother,  were 
it  only  that  you  may  have  a  letter  from  your  son, 
written  at  this  place. 

I  arrived  here  the  day  before  yesterday,  just  as 
night  was  closing  in.  It  would  be  difficult  to  imagine 
anything  more  beautiful  than  the  road   from  Bingen. 

K  2 


132     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

I  believe  it  is  even  preferable  to  the  descent  by  the 
river.  One  rolls  along  an  excellent  road,  which  in 
another  two  years  will  leave  nothing  to  be  desired ;  at 
present,  the  railings  by  its  side  are  in  many  places  only 
too  necessary. 

The  environs  of  Coblentz  are  greatly  improved  by 
the  fine  roads  which  meet  there  from  every  direction 
One  is  astonished  to  find  oneself  in  the  avenues  in  front 
of  the  chdteau  without  having  been  jolted  at  the  foot  of 
the  Chartreuse  and  across  the  gardens  where  old  Kintelius 
used  to  fancy  he  was  practising  gardening.  The  trees 
that  we  saw  planted  in  front  of  the  chdteau  are  very 
large ;  it  is  like  being  in  the  midst  of  a  forest.  This  is  a 
sad  sight  for  those  who  saw  them  when  they  were  mere 
sticks.  The  chdteau  itself  has  the  look  of  a  deserted 
house  :  doors,  windows,  all  are  broken.  It  is  at  present 
used  as  a  military  establishment.  The  King  wishes  to 
rebuild  it,  but  its  destination  is  not  absolutely  decided. 
The  town  itself  is  where  we  left  it.  The  interior  of 
this  old  town  is  improved — not  that  the  houses  are 
changed,  but  the  streets  are  better  paved,  and  the 
terrible  signboards  which  obstructed  the  view  have 
given  place  to  boards  like  those  in  Paris.  It  is  evident 
that  the  town  has  passed  some  years  under  French 
domination  ;  its  influence  is  visible  in  many  things — 
notably  in  the  shops.  Among  other  things,  the  foun- 
tains in  the  squares  are  well  constructed.  In  front  of 
the  church  of  St.  Castor  there  is  a  fountain  with  the 
following  inscription  : — '  Erigee  par  le  prefet  Van  1812, 
memorable  par  la  campagne  cle  Russie  ; '  and  below, '  Vu 
et  approuve  par  nous,  Commandant  russe  a  Coblentz,  le 
V  Janvier,  1814.' 

They   are  making  fine  strong  fortifications  on  tlie 
three  points  which  command  the  town — at  Ehrenbreit- 


COBLENTZ.  133 

stein,  on  the  mountain  of  St.  Peter  [das  ehemalige  Brun- 
nenstubchen),  and  behind  the  Chartreuse.  The  environs 
of  Coblentz  are  certainly  among  the  most  remarkable 
on  the  Ehine.  Our  garden  near  the  Moselle  is  now  a 
field.  I  have  been  to  see  the  house,  the  entrance  to 
which  is  as  it  must  have  been  always,  but  the  riding- 
school,  the  coach-house,  the  old  door,  the  walls  be- 
tween the  two  courts — all  have  disappeared.  There 
is  a  little  wall,  with  two  doors  with  pillars  form- 
ing the  entrance  to  the  court,  and  a  small  public 
square  has  replaced  the  houses  which  obstructed  the 
entrance.  The  house  is  in  the  most  pitiable  state,  and 
very  dirty  ;  there  are  no  traces  of  what  it  once  was. 
The  Court  of  Appeal  occupies  the  greater  part,  and 
the  small  house  is  inhabited  by  a  general,  who,  I  suppose, 
finds  himself  pinched  for  room.  I  went  through  the 
garden  ;  the  English  part  is  replaced  by  a  score  of 
large  trees,  planted  without  order  where  the  old  thickets 
were ;  the  hermitage  has  disappeared :  the  hillock  on 
which  it  stood  still  marks  the  spot.  The  meadow 
remains ;  the  espalier  is  converted  into  great  trees  such 
as  grow  in  the  fields ;  on  the  terrace  the  lime-trees  are 
immense,  and  partly  obscure  the  view.  The  frescoes 
alone  have  resisted  the  ravages  of  time ;  the  stable 
wall  is  covered  with  them,  and  they  struck  me  as  being 
exceedingly  bad. 

Of  our  old  acquaintances  there  only  remain  here  the 
old  Count  d'Eltz  (who  is  dying),  and  Count  Eemus,  who 
lives  in  the  Burresheims'  house  for  some  months  in 
every  year.  The  two  ladies,  his  aunts,  are  ahve,  and 
intend  to  marry  when  they  can  find  husbands.  The 
rest  of  the  gentry  have  disappeared,  they  and  tl  eir 
little  fortunes.  Faithful  to  the  customs  of  the  country, 
all  these  gentlemen  have  ruined  themselves  more  than 


134     EXTRACTS   FROM   JNIETTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

the  Eevolution  has  ruined  them.  Count  de  Boos  is 
the  last  to  leave ;  he  is  now  at  Sayn,  where  he  is  dying 
in  consequence  of  a  visit  he  made  to  Paris,  where  he 
destroyed  his  health  and  lost  all  his  fortune  at  play. 
Kerpen's  house  displays  the  name  of  a  linendraper's  shop. 
Leyen's  house,  which  is  in  very  good  condition,  is 
occupied  by  the  military  governor.  The  castle  of 
Kesselstadt  is  transformed  into  an  iron  manufactory. 
Bassenheim's  house  will,  one  of  these  days,  fall  on  the 
head  of  a  general  who  is  hving  in  it.  The  Laacher- 
Hof  bears  beneath  its  ancient  name  an  innkeeper's 
signboard.  I  lodge  at  the  Hotel  de  Treves,  which  is 
one  of  the  worst  inns  in  Europe — the  best  is  at  Thai. 

There  are  no  traces  of  the  old  chdteau  below  Ehren- 
breitstein :  it  is  replaced  by  a  battery  of  twenty-four 
guns. 

This  rough  sketch  will  give  you  an  idea  of  the 
town,  which  is,  indeed,  in  its  old  place,  but  is  not  at  all 
the  old  town  itself.  Since  I  have  been  here  I  have  not 
met  two  people  I  know.  It  is  quite  sufficient  to  come 
here,  as  I  have  done,  to  see  that  five-and-twenty  years 
will  swallow  up  a  whole  generation.  The  streets  are  full 
of  the  children  of  the  children  of  our  time,  and  they 
look  upon  me  as  upon  a  being  from  another  world. 

I  spent  yesterday  morning  in  receiving  the  civil  and 
military  authorities  and  those  of  the  town  ;  I  took  a 
walk  with  Chancellor  Hardenberg — whom  I  found,  to 
my  great  satisfaction,  in  the  best  of  health — and  I  dined 
with  the  Governor.  To-day  I  go  to  Engers  ;  dine  with 
minister  Ingersleben,  do  some  business,  and  to-morrow 
return  to  Johannisberg.  This  is  all  I  have  to  tell  you  ; 
nevertheless,  I  suppose,  my  dear  mother,  that  you  will 
read  my  letter  with  the  interest  one  always  feels  in 
old  memories. 


THE  RHEINGAU.  135 

Metternich  to  his  Wife,  Johannisherg,  September  18. 

263.  I  am  here,  not  as  if  in  the  country,  but  as  if 
at  a  Congress.  Yesterday  I  had  Chancellor  Hardenberg, 
Count  de  Goltz  and  General  Wolzogen,  Count  de  Buol, 
Steigentesch,  Wessenberg,  Caraman,  Maccalon,  the 
Counts  Munster,  Eechberg,  and  Wintzingerode.  I  have 
with  me  Mercy,  Spiegel,  Langenau,  and  Gentz.  The 
Chancellor  left  yesterday  for  Kreutznach  ;  Bethmann 
and  half  a  dozen  Frankfurtese  arrive  to-day.  To  lodge 
all  these  people  I  have  hired  two  houses  at  the  foot  of 
the  hill. 

What  a  view  !  What  a  rich  country  !  What  inde- 
scribable beauties  for  a  man  who  does  not  know  the 
Eheingau  !  Everyone  who  arrives  stands  amazed  on  the 
balcony,  and  yet  the  view  is  nothing  in  comparison  with 
that  from  the  drawing-room,  which  forms  the  eastern 
corner  of  the  clidteau.  When  the  air  is  clear  you  can 
follow  the  course  of  the  Eliine  in  a  direct  line  for  more 
than  nine  leagues  ;  when  it  is  hazy,  the  river,  wliich  is 
immense,  touches  the  horizon  and  looks  like  the  sea. 
It  is  continually  covered  with  two-masted  vessels  in  full 
sail,  and  its  banks  are  like  those  of  a  little  stream,  the 
grass  reaching  to  the  water's  edge.  I  have  just  had 
plans  made  of  the  chateau  and  the  neighbourhood.  I 
have  sent  for  an  excellent  arcliitect  from  Frankfurt  to 
arrange  the  plan  according  to  my  directions  ;  it  will  be 
only  necessary  to  make  a  very  few  changes  to  turn  the 
chateau  into  a  very  comfortable  habitation,  able  to  accom- 
modate a  numerous  family  and  a  dozen  visitors.  Near 
the  clidteau  is  a  place  which  is  cultivated  as  an  Enghsh 
garden,  and  which  is  suited  for  notliing  else.  In  it, 
facing  the  Ehine,  there  is  a  hillock  on  which  I  intend 
to  erect  a  monument,  probably  an  obelisk,  in  remem- 


136     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

brance  of  the  events  of  1813  and  1814.  I  shall  thus 
raise  on  the  most  classic  ground  of  Germany,  and  at 
very  little  expense,  a  truly  national  monument.  Free- 
stone costs  nothincf,  and  a  few  blocks  would  make  a 
beautiful  thing,  which  above  all  should  be  simple.  M. 
de  Handel  has  been  ordered  to  send  you  a  work  which 
contains  a  very  good  description  of  the  course  of  the 
Rhine.  I  intend  it  for  Marie,  so  that  she  may  know  what 
she  will  see  one  day.  Have  it  sent  to  her,  but  read  the 
chapters  from  Mayence  to  Coblentz,  and  especially  the 
one  at  the  end  of  the  book,  which  is  called  Volks-sagen. 
You  will  read  there  the  most  charming  histories,  which 
will  recur  to  you  on  taking  this  journey  at  every  step. 
There  is  not  one  picturesque  site  which  does  not  contain 
a  ruin,  and  each  ruin  has  its  history  ;  each  story  is 
full  of  gallant  and  chivalrous  sentiments ;  the  subjects 
might  inspire  tlie  most  beautiful  pictures  in  the  world 
to  adorn  a  beautiful  edition  of  this  work.  Eead 
particularly  the  history  of  the  Emperor  Frederick  of 
Adolphseck  and  Bitter  Bromser  von  Budesheim.  This 
family  is  merged  in  ours  ;  we  were  its  heirs  ;  the  scene 
of  the  events  belonged  to  us,  and  I  was  obliged  to  sell 
it  to  satisfy  some  usurers.  The  ruin,  the  most  beau- 
tiful on  the  banks  of  the  Ehine,  has  been  bought  by 
Count  Ingelheim,  who  occupies  himself  in  transform- 
ing it  into  a  dwelling-house,  and  that  in  the  best 
possible  taste.  He  manages  the  exterior  very  well, 
and  hollows  out,  in  the  walls,  which  are  from  twenty- 
five  to  thirty  feet  thick,  commodious  apartments  in  a 
most  suitable  style.  This  old  chateau  could  only  have 
been  a  Roman  castle,  and  this  is  proved  by  tlie  dis- 
covery lately  made  of  a  vault  in  which  were  a  num- 
ber of  funeral  urns  very  well  preserved,  and  beside 
each  urn  a  sabre,  a  lance,  the  top  of  a  lielmet,  and 


MAYENCE.  137 

many  Eoman  weapons.  Not  wishing  to  disturb  any- 
thing, they  cleared  the  entrance  to  the  vault,  and  closed 
it  with  a  glass  door. 

...  I  have  received  a  splendid  decree  from 
the  King  of  Naples,  giving  me  the  title  of  Duke  of 
Portella,  the  first  place  in  the  kingdom  where  the 
Imperial  troops  halted  in  the  campaign  of  1815. 
There  is  a  compliment  in  the  choice  of  the  name,  and 
it  is  a  good  remembrance  to  j^erpetuate  in  the  family. 

264.  Maijence,  September  23. — I  left  Johannisberg 
with  great  regret  yesterday  and  I  took  a  tender  leave  of 
it.  When  you  see  it — and  that  will  be  a  happy  day  for 
me — you  will  understand  my  regret.  I  found  my  quar- 
ters here  prepared  in  the  old  house  on  the  Bleiclie  which 
my  father  occupied,  and  which  I  left  in  1788  to  go  to 
Strasburg.  That  is  thirty  years  ago  ;  I  have  grown 
old  ;  the  house  has  renewed  its  youth  without  having 
improved ;  it  has  lost  the  appearance  of  a  mansion  to 
take  that  of  a  middle-class  house.     -^ 

The  Emperor  arrived  here  at  seven  o'clock.  You 
will  see  from  what  Hudelist  tells  you  what  he  has  done 
to-day.  I  spent  the  day  in  work,  then  in  walking  in 
the  streets,  dining  with  the  Emperor,  and  paying  visits 
to  the  Princess  of  Hesse-Homburg  and  the  Princess  of 
Denmark,  who  is  very  pretty.  I  passed  three  hours  in 
the  evening  with  the  Emperor,  who  is  glad  to  see  me 
again,  and  then  went  to  see  the  last  scenes  of  '  Titus,' 
which  was  very  tiresome  this  evening.  There  is  no  worse 
theatre  than  that  of  Mayence,  unless  it  is  that  of  Baden. 

We  shall  prolong  our  visit  here  until  to-morrow,  so 
as  not  to  meet  the  King  of  Prussia  at  Coblentz.  The 
Emperor  will  embark  on  the  25th,  and  dine  at  Johannis- 
berg ;  we  shall  be  a  large  and  pleasant  party,  including 
nearly  all  the  princes  who  are  here. 


13S     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

We  shall  sleep  on  the  25tli  at  Bingen,  on  the  26th 
at  Coblentz,  on  the  27tli  at  Cologne,  and  on  the  28th  at 
Aix-la-Chapelle.  The  Emperor  Alexander  does  not  go 
to  Italy.     I  need  not  tell  you  that  delights  me. 

265.  Bingen^  September  24. — I  arrived  here  in  such 
good  time,  my  dear,  after  a  charming  day,  that  I  am 
able  to  take  this  opportunity  of  sending  to  Frankfurt, 
and  write  to  you  by  the  mihtary  courier. 

You  will  read  in  the  paper  an  article  containing  the 
details  of  our  day,  but  neither  papers  nor  letters  can 
convey  to  you  the  truly  ravishing  scene  we  have  en- 
joyed. I  do  not  believe  that  the  voyage  of  Cleopatra, 
that  beautiful  queen,  with  all  her  nymphs  and  adorers 
surrounding  her,  could  have  been  more  picturesque  than 
ours.  The  skies  were  extremely  favourable  ;  the  most 
beautiful  day,  the  best  wind,  the  best  people  and  the 
most  amoureux :  this  is  the  only  word  which  expresses 
the  sentiment  all  feel  here  towards  the  Emperor  ;  hun- 
dreds df  boats,  thousands  of  cannon  and  petards  firing, 
about  twenty  bands,  besides  the  music  of  the  Austrian 
regiment  and  garrison  at  Mayence  ;  a  burning  sun,  a 
cool  wind,  and  thousands  of  smiling  faces ;  all  this  on 
the  Ehine  and  on  its  banks.  These  are  the  elements 
which  composed  the  fete^  which  nevertlieless  was  only  a 
simple  journey. 

The  Emperor  was  struck  with  the  view  of  Johannis- 
berg,  and  the  Prince  of  Denmark  declares  that  in  Den- 
mark and  even  in  Norway  there  is  not  a  more  charming 
situation  under  the  softest  sky.  I  gave  him  a  very  good 
dinner,  and  I  found  that  I  had  enough  Johannisberg  of 
my  own  without  having  to  borrow.  I  am,  moreover, 
convinced  that  it  never  attained  more  celebrity  than 
during  the  last  fifteen  days.  But,  I  am  far  from  de- 
sirous that  it  should  preserve  that  character ;  I  should 


BINGEN.  139 

very  much  prefer  to  pass  some  weeks  tliere  with  you 
and  the  children,  with  neither  sovereigns  nor  ministers. 
The  book  I  have  placed  there  to  receive  the  names  of 
visitors  looks  to-day  like  a  protocol  of  Congress.  May 
God  spare  me  from  seeing  it  filled  thus  ! 

We  shall  leave  to-morro*^  at  eight  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  shall  be  at  Mayence  between  one  and  two. 
The  Emperor,  who  much  likes  to  see  attachment  shown 
to  him,  is  enchanted  with  the  country. 

We  have  superb  weather,  and  Father  Arndt  an- 
nounced to  me  to-day  with  an  air  truly  Bacchic  that  he 
will  answer  for  the  year.  I  said  my  fiat  with  much 
benignity. 


RESIDENCE  IN  AIX,  AND  RETURN  JOURNEY 

TO    VIENNA. 

Extracts  from  Metternich's  private  Letters,  from  October  1  to 
December  25,  1818.        . 

20G.  Arrival  at  Aix— waits  at  Cologne  for  the  Emperor— triumphal  voyage 
up  thelihine — visit  to  the  Cathedral — the  Emperor  Alexander — beginning 
of  the  Conferences.  267..  Dinner  of  the  King  of  Prussia  in  honour  of  the 
Emperor's  name-day — whist-party.  268.  The  Treaty  of  Evacuation 
signed  with  France — journey  to  Italy.  269.  Amusements.  270.  Death 
ofHudelist — excursion  to  Spa.  271.  Lawrence  at  Aix.  272.  Travelling 
plans.  270.  Conclusion  of  the  business.  274.  With  Wellington  to 
Brussels— Princess  Mary.  275.  From  Donauworth.  276.  Eeturu  to  Vienna 

— the  Emperor  Alexander.     277.  Parallel  between  Paris  and  London. 

• 

Metternich  to  his  Wife,  Aix-la-Chapelle, 
October  1,  1818. 

266.  Here  I  am  at  last,  my  dear,  in  this  town,  at 
the  end  of  my  journey,  but  far  from  the  end  of  my 
wishes. 

I  wrote  to  you  last  from  Bingen.  I  coasted  the 
Bhine  as  far  as  Coblentz,  where  the  Emperor  arrived 
by  water  some  hours  after  me.  We  slept  there,  and  I 
pursued  my  route  next  day  as  far  as  Cologne.  I  dined 
at  Bonn,  and  walked  about  the  town  for  about  two 
hours.  Nothing  is  so  charming  as  the  situation  of 
Bonn ;  the  beautiful  mountains  which  terminate  the 
valley  of  the  river  seem  to  embellish  the  scene  so  as  to 
make  you  leave  it  with  still  more  regret.  These  moun- 
tains, known  by  the  name  of  the  Siebengebirge,  have  a 
magical  effect.  On  one  side  are  the  ruins  of  Eoland- 
seck,  and  on  the  other,  those  of  Drachenfels.     In  case 


ENTHUSIASTIC   RECEPTION.  141 

they  did  not  sejid  you  from  Frankfurt  the  description 
of  the  Ehine  by  Schreiber,  I  enclose  a  copy  now.  You 
will  find  in  the  article  '  Volks-  a/je?i '  the  history  of  these 
two  castles.  Further  on  begins  the  immense  plain 
which  loses  itself  in  the  Ocean  and  the  North  Sea — a 
luxuriant  plain,  covered  with  towns,  villages,  fertile 
fields  and  superb  forests. 

I  arrived  at  Cologne  about  seven  o'clock.  An  im- 
mense crowd  had  assembled  to  meet  the  Emperor.  My 
six  horses  and  the  carriages  of  my  suite  made  them 
take  me  for  him.  In  vain  I  stopped  every  five  minutes 
to  assure  the  people  that  I  was  unworthy  of  so  much 
honour — it  was  no  use  ;  on  arriving  at  the  gate  they  be- 
gan again  in  fine  style.  The  bells,  the  shouts,  the  excite- 
ment of  a  population  of  sixty  thousand  souls  who  crowded 
against  my  carriage,  drowned  my  voice  as  well  as 
Gentz's,  whom  by  chance  I  had  met  at  Bonn  and  in- 
duced to  come  with  me.  It  was  as  much  as  I  could  do 
to  prevent  them  taking  the  horses  out  of  the  carriage. 
I  was  furious,  and  Gentz  trembled  in  every  limb.  I 
only  heard  one  sensible  voice  in  the  crowd  :  a  man  to 
whom  I  declared  that  it  was  I,  myself,  said  to  me : 
'  WeU,  we  love  our  Emperor  enough  to  shout  twice,  if 
you  are  not  he.' 

I  arrived  at  last  at  the  house  of  the  old  patrician 
Geyger.  Monsieur,  Madame,  and  Mesdemoiselles,  his 
daughters,  whom  I  had  never  seen,  took  possession  of  me 
as  I  alighted  from  the  carriage.  I  was  covered  with 
old  and  young  kisses ;  the  whole  household  wept, 
shouted  and  swore.  They  wept  with  joy  at  embracing 
me — me  the  Austrian  Minister ;  they  shouted  Vive 
V Empereur !  and  they  swore  at  the  fate  which  had  over- 
thrown the  ancient  order  of  things.  Surrounded  by  all 
the  authorities  of  the  place,  I  dragged  the  family  into 


142     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNTCH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

a  room,  and  implored  them  to  be  reasonable.  They  re- 
plied by  a  spontaneous  and  positive  assurance  that  they 
believed  they  were  so,  and  they  could  and  would  not 
act  otherwise.  I  began  to  see  that  my  attempts  were 
futile  against  such  a  determination,  and  delivered  my- 
self up  to  their  kisses  with  heroic  abandonment.  Ee- 
stored  to  liberty  myself,  I  saw  that  Giroux  *  had  been 
seized  by  the  servants  ;  they  seemed  not  to  perceive 
that  he  had  neglected  his  beard  for  a  week. 

At  last  the  Emperor  arrived  at  his  house,  two  doors 
from  mine,  and  the  crowd  and  the  kisses  moved  twenty 
steps  farther  on. 

Certainly  if  anyone  imagines  that  the  happiness  of 
having  been  French  and  being  now  Prussian  has  at 
Cologne  and  on  the  banks  of  the  Ehine  obliterated 
the  remembrance  of  ten  centuries,  he  is  much  deceived. 
The  Press  nevertheless  groans  under  this  lie ! 

The  voyage  on  the  Ehine  has  been  one  continual 
triumph  for  the  Emperor,  and  has  ended  by  becoming 
quite  embarrassing  to  him.  The  whole  thing  recom- 
menced on  his  arrival  at  Aix-la-Chapolle.  Everything 
breathes  of  the  Empire  in  the  natal  city  so  beloved  by 
Charlemagne.  The  people  see  in  the  Emperor  only  his 
successor ;  they  are  silent  when  any  of  the  other 
Sovereigns  passes,  and  never  cease  shouting  wherever 
the  Emperor  appears :  Es  lebe  unser  Kaiser ! 

The  situation  of  Aix,  of  which  I  had  only  a  con- 
fused remembrance  of  twenty-six  years'  length,  is  very 
picturesque.  It  is  very  undulated,  and  well  cultivated. 
The  weather  is  magnificent  and  tempts  one  to  walk. 
We  are  very  well  lodged,  and  the  measures  which  have 

*  For  many  years  a  faithful  valet  of  Count  Metternich's. 


RELICS   AT   COLOGNE.  143 

been  taken  to  prevent  a  crowd   of  diplomatists  from 
arriving  leave  us  very  much  at  liberty. 

After  dinner  this  evening,  we  went  with  the  Em- 
peror to  visit  the  Cathedral.  The  King  of  Prussia  came 
too,  for  he  had  not  seen  the  relics,  which  date  from  the 
time  of  Charlemagne,  and  which  are  only  shown  to  the 
public  every  seven  years,  or  when  a  Cathohc  crowned 
head  comes  to  visit  them.     We  were  shown  : — 

1.  A  small  coat  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  we  call  in 
Vienna  ein  Kinder-Rock erl. 

2.  A  dress  of  the  Holy  Virgin. 

3.  The  girdle  which  Jesus  Christ  wore  on  the  cross. 

4.  The  linen  in  which  Herodias  carried  the  head  of 
St.  John  the  Baptist. 

One  can  hardly  beheve  that  these  objects  are  cor- 
rectly named,  but  it  is  none  the  less  true  that  when  they 
were  given  to  the  church  by  Charlemagne  a  thousand 
years  ago,  that  prince  would  not  have  acquired  them 
had  they  not  shown  proofs  of  the  highest  antiquity. 
Their  preservation  can  only  be  accounted  for  by  the  ex- 
treme care  that  is  taken  of  them.  They  also  show  the 
skull  of  this  Emperor  and  many  of  his  bones,  which 
show  how  tall  he  was.  A  prie-Dieu  had  been  placed 
on  his  tomb,  and  the  Emperor  knelt  on  it  and  prayed. 
The  people,  who  had  forced  the  doors  to  see  the  Em- 
peror, all  fell  on  their  knees  instantly,  and  I  thought 
the  King  seemed  very  uncomfortable,  standing  in  the 
midst  of  his  people.  In  his  place,  I  would  not  have 
come. 

The  Emperor  Alexander  arrived  here  the  same 
day,  in  the  evening.  I  spent  three  hours  with  him, 
and  we  were  just  on  the  same  terms  as  in  1813. 

Our  conferences  began  to-day  under  the  most 
favourable  auspices,  and  I  have  every  reason  to  hope 


144    EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

that  in  three,  or  at  the  most  four,  weeks  we  shall  finish 
oiir  labours. 

The  results  will  be  generally  satisfactory.  The  Em- 
peror Alexander  will  go  from  here  to  Vienna.  No  more 
is  said  about  his  journey  to  Italy  and  I  do  not  think  he 
will  stay  more  than  a  fortnight  at  Vienna  ;  consequently, 
by  December  1  all  will  be  restored  to  order. 

267.  Odoher  5.— It  is  horribly  cold  to-day:  it 
hails,  and  it  freezes.  The  Emperor,  who  suffered  much 
inconvenience  yesterday,  remained  in  bed  ;  to-day  he 
feels  better,  and  has  risen.  As  for  me,  I  had  a  bad  cold 
yesterday,  and  I  am  very  little  better  to-day.  The  re- 
sult of  this  happy  coincidence  was  that  neither  the 
Emperor  nor  I  were  present  yesterday  at  a  dinner 
given  by  the  King  of  Prussia  in  honour  of  St.  Francis, 
nor  at  a  grand  ball  given  by  the  town.  It  is  perhaps 
for  the  first  time  in  my  hfe  that  I  felt  really  glad  that 
my  health  prevented  me  from  going  out.  I  will  wager 
that  the  whole  town  thinks  that  the  Emperor  and  I  have 
sacrificed  theu'  fete  to  some  profound  political  calcula- 
tion. We  must  let  them  believe  this,  and,  to  keep  up 
the  delusion,  I  shall  acquit  myself  perfectly  to-day. 

Our  business  is  progressing  quite  marvellously  :  this 
means  that  it  will  soon  be  finished.  I  have  never  seen 
a  prettier  little  Congress ;  this  one  will  produce  no  bad 
blood  in  me,  I  promise  you.  You  will  excuse  me  from 
telhng  you  about  our  protocols,  and  they  are  what  occupy 
us  most.  I  make  one  of  a  party  of  whist  every  evening 
with  the  Prince  de  Hatzfeld,  Zichy,  Baring,  Labouchere, 
Parish — that  is  to  say,  with  men  who  do  not  find  them- 
selves distressed,  or  even  incommoded,  by  the  loss  of  a 
good  round  thousand  or  so.  We  met  at  first  at  Lady 
Castlereagh's,  but  there  is  an  inconceivable  atmosphere 
of  ennui  connected  with  that  house.     By  common  con- 


TREATY   WITH   FRANCE.  145 

sent  we  renounced  the  charms  of  my  lady,  and  fixed 
upon  my  drawing-room,  which  is  somewhat  smaller  than 
your  little  room  hung  with  nankeen. 

268.  October  10. — We  signed  yesterday  with  France 
the  treaty  of  evacuation.  We  have  lost  no  time,  having 
in  eleven  days  settled  the  diplomatic  affairs,  made  a  pay- 
ment of  two  hundred  and  sixty-five  millionri,  and  arranged 
everything  relating  to  the  march  of  the  troops.  The 
effect  which  this  has  produced  in  France  is  already 
known,  for  we  receive  our  letters  from  Paris  in  forty 
hours  ;  all  goes  w^ell  and  will  continue  to  do  so. 

Our  affairs  here  will  be  concluded  by  the  end  of  the 
month.  I  shall  be  at  Vienna  most  probably  on  No- 
vember 15,  or  soon  after. 

I  informed  you  lately  of  our  plans  for  the  journey 
to  Italy.  The  Emperor  intends  to  leave  Vienna  between 
February  10  and  15.  He  will  pass  the  last  days  of  the 
Carnival  at  Venice  ;  the  four  first  weeks  of  Lent  at 
Naples  ;  the  last  two  weeks  and  Easter  week  at  Eome  ; 
three  weeks  in  Tuscany ;  three  in  Lombardy ;  this  will 
bring  him  back  to  Vienna  towards  the  middle  of  July. 

269.  October  18. — Our  affairs  here  are  advancing 
rapidly.  I  will  give  them  no  margin  beyond  the  4tli  or 
5th  of  November. 

As  for  amusements,  there  are  none.  We  are  over- 
whelmed with  youthful  talent:  every  day  there  are 
concerts  of  virtuosos  aged  four  and  nine  years.  The 
last  arrival  is  a  little  boy  of  four  j^ears  and  a  half,  who 
plays  the  double-bass.  You  can  easily  judge  of  the 
perfection  of  the  execution. 

There  are  not  even  any  remarkable  shops,  and  the 
trash  they  offer  costs  just  double  what  the  best  of  its 
kind  does  in  Paris  and  London.  If  the  shopkeepers  have 
speculated  on  our  purses,  they  have  reckoned  without 

VOL.  III.  L 


146     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE    LETTERS. 

their  host.  I  do  not  know  anyone  who  buys  more  than 
what  is  strictly  necessary. 

Our  ladies  here  are  Lady  Castlereagh,  three  or  four 
English  more  or  less  old — that  is  to  say,  they  are 
between  fifty  and  sixty  (quite  youthful  for  London) — 
the  Princess  de  la  Tour,  Madame  de  Nesselrode,  and 
three  Eussian  ladies.  It  is  with  the  ladies  as  with  the 
shopkeepers  :  there  is  a  total  want  of  admirers. 

270.  October  27. — The  courier  bringing  the  sad 
news  of  the  death  of  poor  Hudelist  arrived  here  this 
morning,  and  I  need  not  tell  you  how  much  I  regret 
him.  He  possessed  the  most  essential  qualities,  and 
merits  which  I  shall  scarcely  be  able  to  replace. 
My  labour  Avill  be  doubled,  and  perhaps  even  trebled, 
for  some  time ;  I  have  been  so  accustomed  to  depend 
upon  him  for  all  details,  that  I  shall  always  regret  what 
I  can  no  longer  have  done  by  him,  and  certainly  not  so 
quickly  by  any  other  employe. 

I  am  writing  to  Madame  Hudelist,  and  I  beg  you  to 
send  the  letter  to  her  yourself,  telling  her  that  I  have 
chosen  this  way,  because  I  am  convinced  that  it  will  make 
its  reception  less  painful  to  her.  I  hope  the  Emperor 
will  do  something  for  her,  the  more  so  as  I  am  sure  her 
husband  left  very  little  money. 

,  .  .  The  day  before  yesterday  I  went  to  Spa  with 
M.  and  Madame  de  Nesselrode,  the  Count  and  Countess 
de  Lieven,  Steigentesch,  Zichy,  Lebzeltern,  the  Prince 
of  Hesse,  and  Floret.  We  passed  the  night  there  ;  and 
yesterday  morning  went  through  the  environs  of  Spa ; 
dined  there,  and  returned  here  at  eight  in  the  even- 
ing. The  weather  was  superb,  and  our  trip  well  ar- 
ranged. Spa  is  empty  ;  we  were  the  only  strangers 
there,  therefore  we  excited  much  interest.  The  road 
from  here  to  Spa  is  charming  :  nothing  is  so  beautiful 


SIR  THOMAS   LAT\TIENCE.  147 

as  the  country  about  Limbourg,  with  its  meadows  and 
innumerable  houses. 

271.  November  3. — Our  affairs  here  are  in  their  de- 
chne.  I  do  not  beheve  that  they  can  go  on  beyond  the 
loth  of  this  month,  the  day  fixed  for  their  conclusion. 
If  this  is  the  case,  I  shall  be  at  Vienna  by  the  end  of 
November  or  the  beginning  of  December,  and  certainly 
I  shall  be  glad  enough  to  find  myself  there. 

Lawrence,  the  greatest  painter  in  the  world,  is  here 
by  command  of  the  Prince  Eegent,  to  take  portraits  of 
the  sovereigns  and  ministers.  That  of  the  Emperor  is 
almost  finished,  and  mine  also.  I  suppose  you  will  see 
these  two,  for  Lawrence  is  going  to  Vienna  to  paint 
Prince  Schwarzenberg.  I  do  not  believe  that  theie 
could  be  a  better  picture  than  that  of  the  Emperor. 
My  portrait,  I  believe,  will  be  excellent.  I  shall  try  to 
get  Lawrence  to  paint  Clementine.* 

Our  life  goes  on  much  as  usual :  we  confer,  we  walk, 
we  dine.  I  have  my  party  in  the  evening,  and  I  go  to 
bed.  All  the  strangers  have  left  us  ;  there  are  none 
remaining. 

272.  November  11. — I  may  now  tell  you,  my  dear, 
that  we  are  very  near  the  end.  The  last  conference 
will  take  place — unless  anything  unforeseen  occurs, 
which  is  not  likely — on  the  16th  or  17th.  The  Emperor 
will  leave  the  same  day.  He  will  be  at  Vienna  on  De- 
cember 2,  after  stopping  five  days  at  Munich. 

I  expect  to  leave  on  the  18th  for  Brussels ;  I  shall 
remain  there  until  the  23rd  or  24th,  and  I  shall  be  at 
Vienna  on  the  7th  or  8th  or  9th. 

I  shall  certainly  not  go  to  Paris.  I  could  only  stay 
there  four  or  five  days,  which  would  be  entirely  taken 
up  by  Princes  and  ministers,  and  I  see  no  good  reason 

*  Princess  Clementine,  the  Prince's  daughter. — Ed. 

L  2 


148     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

why  I  should  wantonly  expose  myself  to  such  drudgery, 
I  shall  therefore  part  from  the  children  at  Brussels. 

Marie  is  wonderfully  well.  She  has  had  all  the  suc- 
cess possible  here  ;  and  as  it  does  not  amount  to  much 
altogether,  I  think  I  may  boast  of  it.  She  has  been  to 
see  the  Emperor,  who — to  please  her,  I  believe — put  on 
a  Chasseur's  uniform.  She  spent  yesterday  evening  in 
dancing  polonaises  with  the  Emperor  Alexander  and 
the  King  of  Prussia,  and  at  this  moment  she  is  at  the 
theatre,  to  see  a  man  named  Wurm,  an  excellent  comic 
actor  from  Berhn,  with  whom  she  is  enchanted. 

You  wdll  read  in  all  the  newspapers,  among  other 
things,  that  I  have  had  a  frightful  fall  from  a  carriage, 
and  that  I  remained  unconscious  during,  I  believe,  five 
or  six  hours.  The  fact  is  that  I  have  had  no  fall,  and 
consequently  have  had  neither  accident  nor  fainting  fit. 
About  a  fortnight  ago  in  starting  from  the  Emperor's 
house  in  one  of  the  excellent  Court  equipages,  the  axle- 
tree  broke,  the  carriage  leaned  on  one  side,  my  servant 
opened  the  door,  I  got  out  of  the  carriage,  and  went  on 
foot  to  a  soiree  at  Madame  Catalani's.  The  coachman 
fell  off,  and  has  been  made  famous.  All  the  English 
papers  luive  correspondents  here :  they  must  write 
something,  and,  having  nothing  to  say  about  the  pro- 
gress of  affairs,  they  amuse  themselves  with  killing  the 
ministers. 

Our  portraits  by  Lawrence  are  really  chefs-d'ceiivre. 
Mine,  which  is  almost  finished,  is  one  uf  the  best.*  He 
will  take  it  to  Vienna,  where  I  shall  make  him  copy  it, 
as  I  shall  never  be  painted  again. 

I  am  sure  Marie  will  tell  you  her  ideas  about  it. 
You  will  laugh  when  you  see  it. 

*  The  portrait  of  Prince  Metternich  engraved  by  Professor  Uuger  for 
this  work  is  the  one  mentioned  liere. — Ed. 


CONCLUSION   OF   CONFERENCE.  149 

273.  November  16. — Our  business  is  concluded. 
The  Emperor  Alexander  left  this  morning  for  Brussels. 
Our  Emperor  starts  to-morrow  for  Vienna.  I  leave  the 
day  after  to-morrow,  early  in  the  morning,  for  Brussels, 
Avhere  important  business  awaits  me.  I  shall  be  de- 
tained there  four  days,  between  that  and  the  infernal 
etiquette  which  naturally  accompanies  it. 

I  spend  my  days  in  work,  and  all  I  can  tell  you  is 
that  I  am  marvellously  well,  and  not  yet  quite  driven 
out  of  my  mind.  A  courier  leaves  this  evening  for 
Vienna.  I  shall  return  here  on  the  22nd  or  the  23rd, 
and  remain  two  or  three  days,  because  the  Con- 
ference is  in  abeyance  until  my  return.  I  shall  be  at 
Vienna  from  the  8tli  to  the  10th  December,  and  the 
Emperor  will  be  there  on  the  2nd.  The  Emperor 
Alexander  will  follow  me  closely ;  he  will  arrive  at 
Vienna  on  the  12th. 

274.  November  2\. — I  wished  to  leave  to-morrow, 
but  the  impossibility  of  carrying  out  my  intention  Avas 
shown  at  the  Conference  this  morninir.  We  do  not 
know  liow  to  avoid  having  one  to-morrow  morning,  and 
probably  another  in  the  evening,  which  will  be  tlie 
last.  I  send  on  my  carriages  in  advance  to-morrow 
evening,  and  I  shall  leave  with  the  Duke  of  Welling- 
ton. We  shall  be  at  Brussels  in  fourteen  or  fifteen 
days.  You  know  my  plans  as  far  as  Vienna.  I  do 
not  foresee  that  they  can  undergo  any  important 
change. 

On  November  23,  Brussels ;  the  24th,  25th,  and 
26th,  I  stay  there ;  the  27th,  Antwerp  ;  the  28th,  Aix- 
la-Chapelle;  the  29th,  Cologne;  tlie  30th,  Coblentz. 

December  1 ,  Johannisberg  ;  the  2nd,  Frankfurt ; 
the  3rd,  4th,  and  5th,  the  journey  to  Munich  ;  the  6th 
and  7th,  I  stay  there ;  the  8th,  Alt-(Ettingen  ;  the  9th, 


150     EXTr.ACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

Wels ;  the  lOtli,  Kemmelbach  or  Amstetteii ;  the  11th, 
Vienna. 

You  see  that  I  shall  be  only  one  day  in  advance  of 
the  Emperor  Alexander,  which  is  certainly  not  too 
much.  His  visit  to  Vienna  not  being  on  business,  the 
mere  fact  of  his  presence  will  not  trouble  me,  for  we 
have  become  the  most  intimate  friends.  Marie,  when 
she  saw  us  the  first  time,  was  quite  astonished — she  had 
never  seen  us  except  on  bad  terms  with  each  other. 
She  danced  several  polonaises  with  him,  and  also  with 
our  Emperor,  at  the  ball  given  by  the  town  to  the 
sovereigns  on  Sunday  last.  The  Emperor  was  as 
charmed  to  see  her  as  if  he  had  known  her  all  his  life. 
'  Sie  ist  eine  der  Meinigen^'  said  he  to  me  twenty  times  ; 
'  Die  hahe  ich  lieher  als  alle  die  Anderen.' 

Our  business  is  over,  and  our  conference  of  to- 
morrow is  nothing  more  than  a  winding  up  ;  everything 
is  well  arranged,  and  I  believe  that  we  shall  gain  honour 
in  Europe.  I  have  never  seen  more  perfect  agreement 
between  the  Cabinets  :  our  affairs — the  rouiih  as  well  as 
the  smooth — ran  as  if  they  went  of  themselves.  The 
result  is  what  I  foresaw  and  above  all  desired. 

I  do  not  know  what  I  would  give  now  to  liave  got 
over  the  rest  of  the  journey  between  this  and  Vienna. 
I  shall  take  this  journey  with  the  feeling  of  a  postillion 
who  returns  empty  to  his  starting-point,  and  who  twenty 
times  curses  the  length  of  the  road  he  still  has  to  traverse 
before  he  can  get  to  his  bed. 

275.  Donauworth,  Deceynher  6. — .  ...  I  found 
Prince  Hardenberg  at  Aix-la-Chapelle,  and  worked 
with  him  all  one  day.  I  passed  a  night  and  a  morning 
at  Johannisberg,  where  I  saw  forty  grand  casks  ar- 
ranged in  the  finest  cellar  in  the  world.  The  wine  will 
be  excellent,  and  twelve  thousand  ducats'  worth  might 


RETURN  TO   VIENNA.  151 

be  sold  to-morrow.  It  will  be  worth  twenty  thousand 
in  five  years.  I  shall  have  neither  rest  nor  respite  till 
you  have  seen  this  place,  which  is  really  a  glorious  pos- 
session. Nothing  resembles  it  in  beauty,  and  the  house 
only  requires  a  little  care  to  become  very  beautiful.  If 
one  had  only  a  cottage  there,  one  would  seem  to  possess 
the  world. 

I  shall  stop  at  Munich  on  the  8th,  and  I  shall  be  at 
Vienna  on  the  11th,  in  the  evening,  or,  more  probably, 
on  the  morning  of  the  12th.  You  will  be  forewarned 
of  my  arrival  by  one  of  my  carriages,  which  I  shall 
send  on  from  the  last  place  I  sleep  at,  which  will  be 
either  Wels  or  Enns. 

....  Good  God !  everybody  seems  to  be  dead 
amongst  us !  I  learnt  all  these  catastrophes  in  a  way 
which  would  have  been  pleasant  if  it  had  been  on  any 
other  subject.  I  saw  Count  d'Eltz  at  Coblentz.  He 
had  just  returned  from  Brazil,  and  is  there  on  business 
connected  with  the  property  of  his  father,  who  is  dying 
a  frightful  death.  .  .  .  I  oiTered  my  sympathy,  and  asked 
him  for  news  from  Vienna.  I  had  not  heard  for  more 
than  a  week,  as  my  letters  were  waiting  for  me  at 
Frankfurt.  '  They  have  cut  off  Jean  PalfTy's  leg,'  said 
he ;  '  but  his  brother  is  still  more  to  be  pitied,  for  he 
lost  one  part  of  his  body  after  another  in  his  journey  to 
Italy.'  '  That  is  dreadful,'  said  I.  '  Yes,  two  days 
before  the  death  of  Count  de  Wallis.'  '  What !  is  he 
dead  ?  '  '  Tlie  Count  de  Kuefstein  is  buried.'  '  What ! 
he  also  ! '  '  The  sacrament  has  been  administered  to 
Marshal  Colloredo  ;  and  his  brother,  Marshal  Wenzel, 
is  dying.'  I  implored  him  to  leave  off,  for  he  did  not 
seem  to  have  half  finished. 


152     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICHS   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

Metternich  to  his  daughter  Marie,  Vienna,  December  17. 

276.  Here  I  am,  my  clear  Marie,  at  home ;  but 
you  are  not  there,  and  I  assure  you  that  you  are  much 
wanted.  We  thmk  much  more  of  you  than  of  our- 
selves. We  follow  all  your  steps,  and  I  think  I  can 
guess  most  of  them. 

On  my  arrival  I  found  Mamma  and  the  children  in 
the  best  of  health.  Victor  is  as  tall  as  a  full-grown 
man.  Clementine  is  improved.  I  do  not  think  Leon- 
tine  has  grown  much.  Herminie  is  really  as  well  as 
possible.  Mamma  has  told  you  of  the  funny  mistake  I 
made  when  I  arrived,  in  takincr  Leontine  for  Herminie. 
I  enquired  about  her  leg,  and  she  thought  I  was  mad. 
She  was  sleeping  in  her  new  room,  instead  of  her  sister. 
I  thought  she  had  grown  very  much  ;  but  never  mind. 
Thoughts  make  a  slip  sometimes,  hke  the  tongue,  and 
one  cannot  extricate  one's  self. 

We  are  here,  not  amongst  fetes,  for  the  Emperor 
Alexander  does  not  wish  it,  but  in  the  sweet  and 
quiet  httle  pleasures  of  the  Court.  The  Emperor 
Alexander  has  at  length  made  the  acquaintance  of  his 
aunt.*  He  passes  whole  days  in  kissing  her  hand,  and 
calling  her  '  my  dear  aunt.'  The  presentation  took 
place  before  dinner  by  the  Empress.  At  the  very 
moment  the  Emperor  kissed  the  hand  of  his  dear  aunt 
I  thought  of  Herminie,  and  I  agree  with  her  that  Aunt 
Pauhne  is  everybody's  aunt. 

Good  bye,  my  dear  Marie.  The  journey  to  Italy  is 
decided  upon,  but  there  is  an  alteration  in  it,  which  is 
in  your  favour.  The  Emperor  will  leave  on  February 
13,  and  in  the  beginning  of  March  he  will  be  at 
Florence  instead  of  Naples — that   is   to    say,  he   will 

•  Duchess  Pauline  von  Wurtemberg,  sister  to  Prince  Metternich. — Ed. 


PARIS  AND  LONDON  COMPARED.        153 

begin  by  spending  nearly  three  weeks  of  the  month  of 
March  in  Tuscany  ;  from  there  he  will  go  to  Eome  for 
Holy  Week,  and  after  that,  about  April  17  or  18,  to 
Naples. 

277.  December  25. — I  was  sure  that  Paris  would 
suit  Pepi  very  well.  He  has  taste,  and  is  accessible  to 
good  impressions.  Paris  is  the  city  for  society,  as  Lon- 
don is  for  commerce.  The  one  cannot  be  compared  to 
the  other,  for  they  are  perfectly  different.  Vienna  is 
like  other  populous  cities  ;  she  may  count  more  streets 
than  some  perhaps,  but  cannot  boast  of  being  greater. 
The  human  mind  needs  continual  friction  to  enable  it  to 
rise  above  the  common  level.  It  is  natural  that  an 
assembly  of  more  than  five  hundred  thousand  individuals 
in  one  place,  under  a  beautiful  sky,  in  a  fertile  country, 
must  offer  facilities  to  a  development,  to  an  industrial 
and  commercial  activity,  very  different  from  that  of 
other  less  populous  centres.  This  is  the  secret  of  the 
perfection  of  Paris  and  London,  which  both  resemble 
ancient  Piome,  ancient  Heliopolis,  and  still  more  ancient 
Babylon.  The  same  causes  always  produce  the  same 
effects,  and  the  latter  are  only  modified  by  the  progress 
of  knowledge,  science,  and  art.  Now,  a  very  slight 
elevation  of  mind  or  refinement  of  taste  leads  people  to 
prefer  the  very  best  to  the  tolerably  good.  Be  sure 
that  as  often  as  this  preference  does  not  take  place,  it  is 
from  the  lack  of  these  qualities,  or  the  result  of  the 
presumption  inseparable  from  ignorance.  This  is  not, 
however,  at  all  connected  with  happiness.  Happiness 
may  depend  on  a  single  object  or  a  single  taste,  and 
consequently  on  a  single  necessity ;  it  is  sufficient  for 
happiness  to  find  some  small  corner  in  which  this  in- 
dividual taste  may  be  satisfied.  This  explains  why  you 
are  happy  at  LanschUtz,  I  in  my  garden,  and  Mamma  in 


154     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

Herminie's  room.  Nevertheless,  everybody  is  not  equally 
exclusive  or  equally  moderate  in  his  tastes ;  so,  though 
you  and  I  are  happy  at  Lanschiitz  and  at  Eennweg,  we 
are  equally  happy  on  the  Boulevards,  at  the  Museum, 
and  even  in  the  Catacombs  ;  while  Mamma  is  only  happy 
in  that  one  room  at  the  Chancellerie. 


155 


METTERNIGH'S  CORRESPONDENCE  WITH  THE  EM- 
PEROR FRANCIS  ON  THE  JOURNEY  TO  AIX. 

Twenty-one  Reports   from  Prince  Metternich   to   the   Emperor 
Francis,  with  his  Majesty's  notes,  from  July  8  to  November  17,  1818. 

278.  Arrangements  concerning  Schloss-Hradscbin,  279.  Death  of  tbe  Queen 
of  Sweden.  280.  Ultra-E-oyalist  conspiracy  in  France — approaching  con- 
flict of  the  ministerial  party  with  Monsieur.  281.  The  Emperor  Alexander 
and  the  condition  of  the  Russo-Polish  Provinces — Field-Marshal  Prince 
Schwarzeuberg.  282.  Alexander's  journey  put  oft: — Metternich's  idea  of 
a  journey  to  Paris.  283.  Death  of  Francis  George  von  Metteruich.  284. 
Interview  with  Capo  dlstria.  285.  Aflectiou  for  Prince  Schwarzenberg. 
286.  Business  in  Rome.  287.  Approaching  reconciliation  of  the  King 
with  Monsieur.  288.  Kindly  feelings  towards  the  Eiuperor  Francis  on 
the  Rhine,  289.  The  Emperor  Alexander's  plan  of  the  journey.  290. 
Proposed  Chamberlain.  291.  Favourable  state  of  feeling  in  Frankfurt. 
292.  Death  of  the  Queen  of  England.  293.  Preparations  for  the  journey 
of  the  Emperor  Francis.  294.  The  Elector  of  Ilesse-Cassel  wishes  for 
Royal  dignity.  295.  Military  organisation  of  the  German  Bund.  296.  The 
Emperor's  portrait.  297.  Pregnancy  of  the  Archduchess  Leopoldine. 
298.  Delay  of  the  journey. 

278.  Carlsbad,  July  8,  1818. — I  hasten  with  much 
respect  to  mform  your  Majesty  of  my  arrival  here  yes- 
terday. Carlsbad  is  very  full  of  strangers,  among  whom 
are  diplomatists  from  all  coimtries,  who  are  here,  some 
only  to  confer  with  me,  some  to  observe  my  meeting 
with  Count  Capo  d'Istria,  Avho  is  expected  here  on  the 
10th. 

As  I  passed  through  Prague  yesterday,  the  chief 
burgomaster  came  and  asked  me  whether  a  meeting  of 
the  monarchs  would  take  place  at  Prague.  I  asserted 
the  contrary.     He  tlien  told  me  that  a  few  days  before, 


1-56  METTERNICH   TO   EMPEROR   FRANCIS. 

lie  had  received  an  official  order  to  repair  the  second 
storey  of  Schloss-Hradschin  at  his  own  cost.  I  assured 
him  there  was  some  extraordinary  mistake,  and  advised 
him  to  wait  your  Majesty's  commands  before  he  in- 
curred any  expense.  I  therefore  beseech  your  Majesty 
to  make  your  commands  known  ;  it  is  possible  that 
some  reparation  was  intended,  but  this  did  not  appear 
in  the  instructions,  and  evidently  some  great  mistake 
must  have  been  made.  In  any  case,  I  consider  it  my 
duty  to  inform  your  Majesty  of  an  error  of  this  kind, 
which  must  cause  a  great  outlay,  the  object  of  which  I 
cannot  see. 

I  consider  Prince  Schwarzenbersf  is  in  much  better 
health.     He  is  in  good  spirits,  and  the  cure  is  so  far 

quite  successful. 

Metternich. 

Eeceived  this  Eeport,  and  I  have  already  given  the 
necessary  orders  for  the  case  to  be  inquired  into  as  to 
the  repairs  to  be  carried  out  at  the  Castle  at  Prague.* 

Francis. 

Baden,  July  15,  1818. 

279.  Carlsbad,  July  9. — Letters  from  Copenhagen 
announce  the  sudden  death  of  the  widowed  Queen  of 
Sweden.  She  had  been  with  the  King  in  the  evening, 
and  died  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

The  King,  who  was  going  to  Norway,  has  put  off  his 
journey  till  after  the  funeral  of  the  Queen. 

As  a  political  event,  this  is  of  no  importance. 

Metternich. 
Eeceived  this  Eeport. 

Francis. 

Baden,  July  14,  1818. 

•  This  note,  as  well  as  all  those  on  the  following  letters,  is  written  by 
the  Emperor  Francis  himself. — Ed. 


IklEETING   OF   THE   MONARCHS,  157 

280.  Carlsbad,  July  14. — May  it  please  your  Ma- 
jesty to  observe  enclosed,  a  very  interesting  letter  from 
Lebzeltern,  in  London.  The  English  Cabinet  is  most 
favourably  disposed,  and  the  opinions  of  Lebzeltern  in 
every  respect  well  founded. 

Your  Majesty  will  also  find  enclosed  a  private  letter 
from  Marquis  de  Caraman,  which  contains  information  of 
a  so-called  Ultra-Eoyalist  conspirac)'.  I  say  so-called, 
because  it  does  not  appear  to  me  to  be  of  that  nature. 
A  few  days  will  suffice  to  prove  the  truth  of  this.  I 
believe  myself  that  the  whole  thing  is  an  intrigue  of  the 
Ultras  on  some  party  grounds.  From  Paris  I  have  very 
little  news  of  the  matter. 

May  it  please  your  Majesty  to  notice  that  the  French 
Ministry,  or,  more  properly  speaking.  Count  Eichelieu, 
hopes,  since  the  late  retreat,  that  my  intervention  be- 
tween the  Ministerial  party  and  Monsieur  the  King's 
brother  may  bring  about  some  approximation.  Mon- 
sieur himself  has  come  to  me  with  the  same  end  in  view. 
In  a  few  days  I  shall  be  in  a  position  to  lay  before 
your  Majesty  the  steps  I  have  taken  in  this  important 
matter.  No  moment  is  more  proper  than  the  eve  of  a 
meeting  of  the  monarch s  to  be  crowned  with  a  result 
of  this  kind,  hitherto  certainly  unattainable.  I  intend 
to  use  these  last  hours,  so  full  of  tension,  with  all  my 
might  to  guide  both  parties  to  straightforward  and 
thoroughly  confidential  ways.  It  is  a  great  satis- 
faction to  me  that  equal  confidence  is  placed  in  me  by 
both  parties. 

According  to  private  letters  received  from  Berlin  to- 
day, the  King  will  arrive  with  the  Emperor  Alexander 
towards  the  end  of  this  month.  A  military  encamp- 
ment which  the  city  had  intended  to  prepare  for  the 
diversion  of  the  sovereigns  has   been   countermanded, 


158  METTEliXICH  TO  ElMPEROR  FRANCIS. 

and  the  Emperor  Alexander  will  employ  the  interval 
between  his  arrival  in  Prussia  and  the  meeting  in  visit- 
ing his  sister.  Whether  this  will  include  a  visit  to  Stutt- 
gart I  know  not,  but  I  rather  doubt  it. 

In  any  case  no  good  can  come  of  the  Emperor's 
moving  about  in  this  way  before  the  interview  takes 
place  ;  but  I  cannot  confirm  the  truth  of  the  intelligence 
I  submit  to  you  until  the  next  official  news  from  Berlin, 

which  I  am  hourly  expecting. 

Metternich. 

This  Report  received  and  enclosures  returned. 

Fraaxis. 

Baden,  July  21,  1818. 

281.  Carlsbad^  July  22. — May  it  please  your 
Majesty  to  receive  a  statement  of  Count  Thurn's,  by 
which  your  Majesty  will  see  that  the  Emperor  Alexander 
continues  to  treat  the  Prince  of  Hesse  with  the  greatest 
attention. 

The  Emperor  now  begins  to  occupy  himself  with  the 
condition  of  the  peasantry  in  the  Russo-Polish  provinces. 
That  there  is  plenty  of  good  material  is  undeniable  ; 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Emperor  runs  some  risk  of 
kindlinfT  a  confla<T:ration  in  the  interior  of  his  kincrdom. 
The  Russians  are  in  general  very  well  under  control ; 
what  would  be  the  result  of  further  progress  is  very 
difficult  to  determine. 

Count  Capo  d'lstria  comes  here  about  the  26th  or  27th 
of  this  month,  to  await  his  master's  arrival  from  St. 
Petersburg,  which  will  not  be  before  the  15th  of  next 
month. 

In  the  meantime  I  am  looked  upon  by  the  chief 
people  here  as  bearing  an  accredited  mission  from  your 
Majesty,  and    to    me    there    is   no  difference    between 


CARLSBAD   WATERS.  159 

Vienna  and  Carlsbad,  except  the  change  of  place.  I 
endeavour  to  get  as  much  time  for  distraction  as  pos- 
sible, and  can  heartily  praise  the  waters  here.  On  the 
31st  of  this  month  I  leave  Carlsbad,  and  as  there  will 
be  three  or  four  days'  interval  t)etween  the  two  courses 
of  the  water-cure,  I  shall  give  myself  till  about  August 
4.  On  the  5th  I  shall  begin  the  waters  at  Franzens- 
brunn.  The  difference  in  the  condition  of  Field-Marshal 
Prince  Schwarzenberg  is  most  astonishing.  His  internal 
complaint  gets  better  every  day  ;  the  Carlsbad  waters 
do  not,  however,  act  directly  on  his  other  complaints, 
and  he  is,  therefore,  ordered  to  try  some  baths,  from 
which  his  physician  hopes  the  best  possible  result.  His 
weakness  has  already  been  so  far  conquered  that  he  can 
walk  for  some  hours.  MErrEKXiCH. 

.Eeceived  this  Report,  and  I  hope  that  the  waters  and 
baths  may  have  the  same  happy  results  for  you  as  for 
Prince  Schwarzenberg. 


'to* 


Francis. 


282.  May  it  please  your  Majesty.  The  news  that 
the  Emperor  Alexander  will  arrive  on  September 
27  instead  of  the  15th,  and  that  the  opening  of  the 
Conference  must  be  delayed  for  fourteen  days,  will  create 
a  very  bad  impression  in  France.  Matters  are  not  really 
altered,  but  the  delay  and  uncertainty  are  trying,  and 
must  be  equally  unpleasant  to  the  Government  and  the 
nation. 

This  gain  or  loss  of  time  leads  me  to  consider  whether 
I  could  not  make  good  use  of  those  twelve  free  days  by 
going  from  the  Ehine  to  Paris. 

The  following  considerations  are  in  favour  of  this : 

1.  I  should  see  for  myself  clearly  what  at  a  distance 
is  often  obscure. 


160  METTERNICH   TO   EMPEROR  FRANCIS. 

2.  It  would  give  me  an  entirely  different  position  at 
the  Conference  at  Aix  among  the  other  Cabinet  minis- 
ters, who  have  not,  like  me,  been  on  the  spot. 

3.  If  there  is  any  chance  of  Monsieur's  agreement 
with  the  Government,  to'  bring  about  which  I  am  urged 
by  both  parties,  I  would  not  willingly  lose  any  oppor- 
tunity of  helping  forward  so  desirable  an  object.  The 
situation  requires  great  management.  I  have  sent  the 
Marquis  de  Caraman  from  Carlsbad  to  Paris  with  a 
mission  on  this  subject,  and  have  sent  back  with  him 
an  individual  whom  Monsieur  sent  to  me  about  eight 
days  ago.  In  the  success  of  this  affair  lies  a  considerable 
guarantee  for  the  future,  while  from  the  continuance 
of  this  unhappy  disunion  there  is  every  chance  of  the 
most  distressing  consequences.  The  moment  before  the 
interview  of  the  monarchs  is  urgent,  and  requires  urgent 
means  to  be  used  to  act  on  both  j^arties. 

4.  I  should,  lastly,  find  a  very  strong  inducement  for 
the  journey  to  Paris  in  the  fact  of  Lord  Castlereagh's 
journey  through  that  city,  which  seems  possible. 

If  your  Majesty  is  pleased  to  entertain  these 
opinions,  I  will  proceed  to  Paris,  and  act  according  to 
circumstances  under  your  Majesty's  full  authority. 
These  circumstances  being  every  day  liable  to  change,  I 
must  make  the  best  use  I  can  of  them  at  the  time. 

I  therefore  beseech  your  Majesty  to  keep  this  mis- 
sion a  deep  secret.  If  I  am  to  carry  out  the  aflair  I 
BLUst  receive  a  command,  tlie  day  when  the  meeting  of 
the  monarchs  is  put  off,  to  make  use  of  the  delay  to  as- 
certain the  state  of  things  on  the  spot.  If  I  do  not  take 
this  journey,  the  public  must  know  nothing  of  the 
matter. 

In  any  case  I  shall  go  up  the  Rhine  at  the  end  of 
this    month,  and  the    Chancellor   Prince    Hardenberg, 


DEATH   OF  METTERNTCH'S   FATHER.  161 

Count  Milnster  in  the  name  of  the  EngUsh  Cabinet,  and 
several  others,  intend  either  to  meet  me.  or  to  come  to 
me  at  Johannisberg,  so  that  we  may  talk  over  the 
affairs  of  the  Conference. 

Should  your  Majesty  be  pleased  to  entertain  my  idea 
of  a  sudden  journey  to  Paris,  I  should  in  any  case  not 
go  before  September  7,  and  return  on  the  23rd  to  your 
Majesty  at  Mayence. 

I  humbly  beseech  your  Majesty  to  give  your  gra- 
cious commands  as  soon  as  possible  concerning  this 
secret  commission. 

Metternicii. 

Franzensbrunn,  August  7,  1818. 

I  allow  you  to  go  to  Paris,  if  you  find  it  will  be  use- 
ful, and  I  shall  expect  you  in  any  case  on  September 
23,  at  Mayence. 

Francis. 

Baden,  August  11,  1818. 

283.  May  it  please  your  Majesty.  The  sad  event 
which  has  befallen  me  and  my  house  makes  it  my  duty 
to  express  to  your  Majesty  my  deepest  gratitude  for  the 
favour  your  Majesty  has  continually  vouchsafed  to  my 
lamented  father  during  his  long  career.  In  his  earliest 
youth  he  was  attracted  to  the  service  of  your  Majesty 
by  the  example  of  his  ancestors,  and  still  more  by  his 
own  feeling.  His  only  wish  and  all  his  efforts  had  but 
one  end — the  honour  and  advantage  of  the  Imperial 
House  and  of  the  State.  Your  Majesty  has  lost  a  ser- 
vant, weakened,  it  is  true,  by  age,  but  still  a  faitliful 
and  attached  servant.  His  constant  desire  was  to  see 
me  fulhl  the  duties  which  his  age  and  circumstances  no 
longer  permitted  him  to  undertake,  and  his  greatest 
consolation  was  the  feeling  of  the  success  of  my  exertions 
during  the  troubles  of  a  most  anxious  time.  When  he 
VOL.  in.  M 


162  HETTERNICH   TO   EMPEROR  FRANCIS. 

was  asked  by  my  family,  a  few  days  before  liis  end, 
whether  he  did  not  wish  to  see  me  in  Vienna,  he  said, 
*  My  son  is  doing  his  duty.  I  can  give  him  my  blessing 
as  well  at  a  distance,  and  to  day  belongs  to  him  and 
his  business.' 

These  words  console  me  for  not  having  seen  him, 
and  having  been  unable  to  fulfil  the  duties  of  a  son. 

I  now  implore  your  Majesty's  favour  for  the  house 

of  which  I  am  now  the  head.     For  myself,  your  Majesty 

has  so  long  treated  me  as  a  father  that  gratitude  alone 

is  becoming  in  me.     If  the  subversion  of  things  of  late 

years  has  placed  my  family  merely  in  the  relation  of 

all  other  vassals  and  subjects  of  the  Imperial  House, 

my  only  wish  is  that  my  successors  may  do  from  a 

feeling  of  duty  what  they  would  in  all  probability  have 

done  of  their  own  free  will. 

Metternich. 

Franzensbad,  August  19,  1818. 

I  feel  deep  sympathy  for  the  loss  of  your  father,  and 
count  as  surely  on  your  attachment  to  my  person  as 
that  you  will  influence  your  family  and  successors  to 
follow  in  your  footsteps,  and  become  able  and  faithful 
servants,  like  yourself. 

Feancis. 

Vienna,  August  19,  1818. 

284.  Franzensbrunn,  August  18. — May  it  please 
your  Majesty.  I  went  yesterday  to  Carlsbad,  to  have 
some  conversation  with  Count  Cajio  d'Istria,  who  had 
been  there  for  some  days. 

The  result  of  this  conversation  was,  in  my  opinion, 
important  and  satisfactory.  I  can  indicate  the  principal 
points  in  it  to  your  Majesty,  who  always  desires  to  be 
informed  of  the  course  of  great  pohtical  affairs. 


CONVERSATION   WITH   CAPO  DISTRIA.  163 

These  are  as  follows  : — 

1.  The  Emperor  of  Eussia,  though  hesitating  be- 
tween many  conflicting  moral  motives,  does  not  abandon 
the  fundamental  principle  of  the  maintenance  of  peace. 
To  this  he  is  impelled  both  by  his  distance  from  all  that 
is  influenced  by  the  playing  with  soldiers,  and  by  his 
religious  principles  ever  growing  more  vigorous. 

2.  The  Emperor  and  his  Cabinet  give  themselves  up 
more  and  more  every  day  to  moral  and  political  prose- 
13'^tising.  Hence  the  many  intrigues,  great  and  small, 
so  irritatin<T  to  us  and  most  other  Governments,  and 
hence  the  deluge  of  emissaries  and  apostles. 

In  this  active  movement  the  intention  is,  however, 
not  to  be  mistaken  (it  lies,  obscurely  or  plainly,  in  the 
Emperor's  mind) — of  trusting  to  time  and  the  course  of 
things  to  favour  the  extension  of  Russian  influence. 
But  an  influence  of  this  kind  does  not  even  grow  to  be 
a  power. 

3.  Count  Capo  dTstria  is  extremely  against  the  form 
of  the  next  meeting. 

First,  he  does  not  wish  the  monarchs  to  appear  per- 
sonally at  the  same,  and  he  regrets  that  his  master  should 
be  the  special  and  almost  only  cause  of  this.  With  this 
opinion  I  quite  agreed. 

Secondly,  he  desired  either  no  meeting  of  the 
monarchs  and  the  Cabinets,  or  that  it  should  be  uni- 
versal. 

His  reasons  are  as  follows  : — 

He  beheves  that  so  great  a  measure  will  only  excite 
the  jealousy  of  the  Powers  not  admitted,  strain  the 
public  mind  excessively,  and  injure  both  monarchs  and 
Cabinets  by  the  want  of  results. 

Here  I  diflered  entirely  from  him.  My  reasons  are 
the  following,  and  I  explained  them  to  the  Count  so  far 

M  2 


164  LIETTERNICH   TO   EMPEROR   FRANCIS. 

as  possible,  considering  the  difference  between  the  plans 
and  actions  of  our  two  Governments. 

The  five  Courts  which  are  assembled  at  Aix  are  not 
only  invited  there,  but  by  the  treaty  of  November  20, 
1815,  they  are  bound  to  come.  All  the  European 
Courts  have  by  their  consent  acknowledged  and  con- 
firmed this  treaty  and  all  its  stipulations. 

The  fulfilling  of  a  right,  and  still  more  of  a  duty, 
cannot  excite  the  jealousy  of  those  who  are  beyond  that 
right  and  duty.  No  Government  fears  the  question  which 
is  referred  to  Aix  being  decided  by  the  five  Courts,  for 
they  are  summoned  for  that  purpose ;  but  all  Govern- 
ments fear  lest  the  four  or  five  Courts  should  venture 
to  bring  forward  more  than  that  one  business.  Therefore, 
the  four  Courts  must  carry  out  this  one  business  only  at 
Aix,  and  therefore  have  we  insisted  that  the  four  Courts 
long  before  the  meeting  should  solemnly  make  this  en- 
gagement. Our  care  must  now  be  that  it  is  maintained 
and  fulfilled. 

The  feeling  of  the  revolutionists  only  is  excited,  not 
at  all  that  of  well-disposed  persons.  Since  this  is  un- 
deniably and  certainly  the  case,  the  beneficial  result  of 
the  interview  will  be  that  nothing  will  be  altered  in  the 
existing  order  of  things.  This  result  will  be  for  your 
Majesty  and  the  Cabinet — which  since  1815  has  taken 
a  decided  course — the  highest  triumph. 

But  for  the  Court  which  pays  homage  to  the  so- 
called  spirit  of  the  times  on  every  occasion,  and  revives 
by  its  expressions  the  hopes  of  innovators  and  sectaries 
of  every  kind — for  this  Court  the  result  will  be,  at  so 
important  an  epoch  as  that  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  in  the 
highest  degree  injurious  even  in  the  eyes  of  these  inno- 
vators themselves. 

In   these   short    sentences   lies   the  important   dif- 


PRINCE   VON   SCHWAEZENBERG.  165 

ference  between  the  Austrian  and  the  Eussian  calcula- 
tions. Ours  have,  up  to  this  time,  been  triumphant, 
and  I  doubt  not  that  this  will  be  again  the  case  at 
Aix.  That  the  Eussian  Minister  does  not  hke  the 
coming  conference  in  the  shape  it  has  already  taken 
is  quite  natural.  That  we,  on  the  contrary,  are 
aorreeable  to  the  said  form  is  no  less  so.  Much  here 
depended  on  the  first  word,  and  we  spoke  it  at  the 
right  moment,  and  thereby  avoided  a  number  of  diffi- 
culties in  a  sense  totally  different  from  Count  Capo 
dTstria's  fears. 

I  have,  moreover,  already  gained  so  much  ground 
in  the  English  and  Prussian  Cabinets  that  in  the  con- 
ferences I  foresee  no  possible  digression  from  the  course 
appointed.* 

285.  Franzensbrunn,  August  20.  May  it  please 
your  Majesty.  As  I  am  aware  of  your  Majesty's 
gracious  feehng  for  Field-Marshal  Prince  von  Schwarzen- 
berg,  I  consider  it  a  duty  respectfully  to  inform 
your  Majesty  of  an  opportunity  of  doing  him  a  great 
kindness  with  very  httle  trouble.  His  eldest  son, 
Friedrich,  has  been  for  more  than  a  j^ear  a  cadet  in  his 
father's  regiment  of  uhlans.  By  strenuous  efforts  he 
has  distino-uished  himself  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  father, 
and  it  is  his  wish  that  he  should  be  promoted  to  be 
sub-lieutenant.  If  your  Majesty  would  deign  to  do 
this  as  of  your  Majesty's  own  thought j  so  great  a  mark 

*  Ou  the  document  of  which  this  is  a  copy  is  written  a  note  in  the 
Chancellor's  handwriting,  but  of  a  much  later  date :  '  This  Report  is  important 
because  it  shows  the  grounds  of  the  difference  in  the  views  and  course  of  the 
two  Imperial  Cabinets.  Count  Capo  d'Istria  was  the  representative  of  a 
trifling  political  school ;  personally  he  had  in  his  eye  only  the  Hellenic 
cause,  which  was  in  the  year  1818  in  preparation.  The  alliance  system  be- 
tween the  great  Powers  was  detested  by  him  for  this  reason,  and  for  its 
opposition  to  the  Liberalism  which  found  a  zealous  representative  in  the 
minister  who  was  more  Greek  than  Russian.' — Ed. 


166  METTERNICH  TO  EMPEROR  FRANCIS. 

of  favour  to  the  Field-Marshal  would  excite  his  deepest 
gratitude. 

If  your  Majesty  vouchsafe  to  grant  this  request 
— which  I  make  witliout  his  knowledge — I  suggest 
most  respectfully  that  your  Majesty  should  write  to 
this  effect  to  the  Field-Marshal,  and  that  as  soon  as 
possible,  since  otherwise  he  may  come  forward  with  a 
dii'ect  request. 

I  am  the  more  inclined  to  take  the  present  step,  as 
the  King  of  Prussia  has,  since  the  arrival  of  Field- 
Marshal  BlUcher  at  Carlsbad,  sent  an  adjutant  to  him 
almost  weekly  to  enquire  after   his   health,    which  is 

much  declining.  T.;r 

°  Metternich. 

I  will  immediately  act  upon  your  suggestion. 

Feancis. 

Baden,  August  25,  1818. 

286.  Franzensbrunn,  August  20. — Enclosed  in  this 
your  Majesty  will  deign  to  receive  a  Report  from  Prince 
Kaunitz,  which  shows  how  the  cause  is  progressing  in 
Rome.*  If  the  Roman  Court  follows  the  course  hinted 
at,  it  is  hardly  possible  to  foresee  what  complications 
it  may  bring  about  in  Germany.  It  is  our  duty  to 
make  this  clear,  and  to  give  our  support  at  once  to  the 
reasonable  party  among  the  Cardinals. 

Your  Majesty  has  deigned  to  approve  my  last 
instructions  to  the  ambassador.  Prince  Kaunitz.  I  wiU 
immediately  write  to  him  urgently  in  the  same  sense. 

•  This  Report,  of  July  10,  expresses  the  fear  that  in  Rome  a  party  of 
Zelonti  among  the  Cardinals  were  striving  against  the  conciliatory  attitude 
of  Consalvi,  and  urging  the  Pope  to  vigorous  measures  against  the  Courts  of 
Bavaria  and  Baden — the  former,  because  it  stultified  by  new  laws  the  Con- 
cordat just  concluded  ;  the  latter,  because  it  took  under  its  protection  the 
Vicar-Capitular  Wessenberg,  at  Constance,  who  was  threatened  with  an 
interdict. — Ed. 


MONSIEUR  AND  THE  KING  OF  FRANCE.  167 

I  respectfully  beg  your  Majesty  to  have  the  present 
Eeport,  with  its  enclosures,  handed  to  Councillor  von 
Hudehst.  Metternich. 

Noticed,  and  the  Report  given  to  Von  Hudelist. 
Our  endeavour  must  be  to  act  in  such  a  way  that 
the  Catholic  religion  may  not  be  needlessly  injured  by 
hasty  measures  or  an  excess  of  zeal.  Francis 

Baden,  August  26,  1818. 

287.  Konigswart,  August  26. — Your  Majesty  will 
be  pleased  to  receive,  in  two  enclosures,  the  instructions 
I  have  issued  on  the  23rd  instant  to  Freiherr  von 
Vincent,  in  the  extremely  important  affair  of  the  recon- 
cihation  of  Monsieur  with  his  brother  the  King  of 
France. 

Your  Majesty  will  deign  to  remember  that  in  the 
spring  your  ambassador  was  instructed  by  Monsieur  to 
express  his  wish  for  a  possible  reconciliation.  Baron 
Vincent  at  once  informed  the  Duke  of  Wellington  of 
the  circumstance,  and  of  his  conversation  with  the 
Prince ;  he  also  informed  the  Duke  of  Richelieu  of  the 
matter. 

I  at  once  answered  Freiherr  von  Vincent,  begging 
him  to  make  known  to  the  King's  brother  the  readiness 
of  your  Majesty  to  co-operate  in  the  good  work  of 
reconciliation,  but  expressing  my  personal  conviction 
that,  first  of  all.  Monsieur  himself  should  make  all 
possible  efforts  to  attain  this  end. 

I  took  this  course — 

1.  Because,  from  the  steps  taken  by  His  Royal 
Highness  in  consequence  of  my  reply,  his  own  stand- 
point will  be  made  clear. 

2.  Because  I  wished  to  ascertain  whether  Monsieur 


168  METTERNICH  TO  EMPEROR  FRANCIS. 

had  taken  the  resolution  from  motives  of  his  own,  or 
whether  he  had  been  impelled  to  do  so  by  the  Ultra- 
Eoyalist  party,  or  one  of  its  numerous  subdivisions. 

3.  Because  your  Majesty's  intervention  in  a  domestic 
matter  can  only  safely  be  permitted  if  the  intervention 
of  a  third  person  is  desired  by  both  the  parties  at 
variance. 

My  expectations  in  this  respect  were  fulfilled  : 
several  attempts  at  reconcihation  were  begun,  partly 
by  Monsieur,  partly  by  the  ministers.  They  were  all 
without  any  result. 

Nearly  at  the  same  time,  in  the  course  of  June,  steps 
were  taken  on  the  part  of  the  Ultras  and  the  Duke  of 
Eichelieu,  to  invite  me  to  take  part  in  the  business.  I 
informed  the  Duke  that  I  should  certainly  be  empowered 
to  act  in  this  matter  by  your  Majesty,  but  that  the 
moment  did  not  seem  to  have  arrived  when  the  inter- 
vention would  be  really  successful,  and  then  I  must 
have  to  do,  not  with  one  or  other  of  the  Ultra-Eoyalist 
parties,  but  with  Monsieur  himself. 

I  had  this  information  also  conveyed  to  Monsieur. 

Upon  this.  Monsieur  actually  sent  to  me  at  Carlsbad 
a  confidential  person,  who  had  no  direct  contact  with 
the  party,  and  negotiated  as  the  immediate  organ  of  the 
Prince  himself.  This  individual  was  sent  back  to  Paris 
to  inform  Monsieur — 

1.  That  the  matter  was  now  placed  on  a  proper 
footing. 

2.  That  Freiherr  von  Vincent  would  be  commis- 
sioned to  act  personally  as  mediator. 

I  informed  the  Duke  of  Eichelieu  of  the  state  of 
things  through  the  Marquis  of  Caraman,  whom  I  sent 
to  Paris,  showing  him  also  that,  in  order  to  gain  time, 
I  would  push  on  the  negotiation  as  near  as  possible  to 


MONSIEUR  AND  THE   KING  OF  FRANCE.  169 

the  interview  at  Aix-la-Cliapelle,  feeling  convinced  that 
success  could  only  be  secured  by  the  greatest  despatch. 
Monsieur  is  weak  ;  he  must  himself  make  the  ap- 
proaches to  reconciliation,  and  if  time  is  given  for  him 
to  confer  with  the  party  all  will  be  lost. 

The  Duke  of  Eicheheu  agreed  with  my  views. 

When  all  these  thino^s  were  discussed  I  sent  the 
above-mentioned  instructions  to  Freiherr  von  Vincent, 
the  purport  of  which  will  itself  explain  to  your  Ma- 
jesty the  standpoint  in  the  business  which  I  must  think 
to  be  the  best. 

Despatch  No.  1  is  to  be  shown  to  both  parties. 

Despatch  No.  2  contains  the  instructions  for  Vincent 
alone. 

Not  till  we  reach  the  Eliine  shall  I  be  able  to  tell 
your  Majesty  the  result  of  the  steps  your  Majesty's 
ambassadors  have  taken. 

I  received  yesterday,  just  as  I  was  starting  for 
Franzensbrunn,  a  letter  from  the  Duke  of  Eicheheu,  in 
which  he  urgently  entreated  me  to  come  to  Paris,  to 
conduct  the  business  in  person.  I  shall  not  come  to  a 
decision  till  I  know  the  result  of  the  first  steps.  These, 
at  any  rate,  must  be  taken  by  some  other  person :  if  I 
find  they  go  well  I  will  take  the  journey;  if  not,  I  will 
make  my  excursi(1n  to  Paris  depend  on  the  circumstance 
of  Lord  Castlereagh's  presence  in  Paris.  If  he  does  not 
choose  that  road,  and  there  is  no  certain  prospect  of 
the  success  of  the  mediation,  I  shall  not  take  the 
journey. 

I  flatter  myself  that  your  Majesty  will  vouchsafe  to 
approve  of  the  conduct  of  the  business  so  far.  I  con- 
sider it  the  most  important  affair  of  the  moment,  but  I 
am  far  from  being  confident  of  success.  The  parties 
stand  so  aloof  from  each  other  that  very  great  impar- 


170  METTERNICH   TO   EMPEROR   FRANCIS. 

tiality  will  be  necessary  on  both  sides  in  order  to  bring 
about  an  approximation.  Although  the  success  of  the 
affair  does  not  depend  on  the  mediator  alone,  it  is  none 
the  less  honourable  for  your  Majesty  and  your  Majesty's 
Cabinet  to  be  chosen  by  both  sides  to  carry  out  so 
excellent  an  object,  and  nothing,  perhaps,  shows  so  well 
the  position  of  your  Majesty  in  the  political  affairs  of 
Europe  a^  this  very  thing.  Metternich. 

Acted  upon,  and  the  enclosures  returned.  Only  one 
thought  strikes  me — namely,  whether  Monsieur,  if  he  is 
weak  and  thoughtless,  may  not  perhaps  bring  about 
some  mischance  or  mistake  from  his  knowledge  of  our 
views  with  regard  to  Eussia  and  the  conduct  of  the  Em- 
peror Alexander. 

Francis. 

Baden,  August  30,  1818. 

288.  Konigswart,  August  26. — Your  Majesty  will 
please  to  receive  in  the  enclosed  Eeport  from  Herr  von 
Handel  information  as  to  the  reception  your  Majesty 
may  expect  on  the  Rhine. 

I  know  the  feeling  of  the  people  in  those  districts, 
and  have  advised  your  Majesty's  journey  up  that  river 
because  I  w^as  convinced  that  it  would  have  the  charac- 
ter of  a  triumphal  procession. 

Besides,  the  party  of  the  disaffected  will  receive  a 
serious  blow  from  the  demonstrations  made  by  the 
Bhinelanders.  The  open  and  spontaneous  expression 
of  a  hundred  thousand  people  is  better  and  more  con- 
vincing than  all  the  declamations  of  Jena  Professors  and 
students. 

The  great  difference  will  also  be  seen  between  the 
journey  of  your  Majesty  and   those   of  the  Emperor 


DOWAGER   EMPRESS   OF  RUSSIA.  171 

Alexander  and  the  King  of  Prussia,  and   this  will  cer- 
tainly be  for  the  advantage  of  Germany. 

Metternich. 
Noticed  with  pleasure. 

Feancis. 

Baden,  August  30,  1818. 

289.  Fraiikfurt,  August  80. — May  it  please  your 
Majesty.  At  the  moment  of  my  arrival  here  I  received 
the  enclosed  letter  from  the  Prince  of  Hesse,  which  a 
courier  brought  me  from  Berlin. 

I  think  it  would  be  well  for  your  Majesty  to  send  the 
necessary  orders  to  Prague,  in  order  to  show  every  possi- 
ble attention  to  the  Dowager  Empress.*  Everything  had 
been  arranged  for  her  reception  at  Schloss-Hradschin  ; 
the  cooks  she  will  of  course  bring  with  her.  That  your 
Majesty  should  send  part  of  the  household  depends  en- 
tirely upon  your  Majesty's  wishes.  Four  gentlemen  in 
attendance  seem  to  me  necessary,  and  an  individual  who 
can  act  as  Master  of  the  Household.  For  this  purpose 
one  of  the  Princes  of  Prague — perhaps  Prince  Lob- 
kowitz — would  be  suitable. 

,  Your  Majesty  will  find  in  your  impending  journey  a 
reason  for  not  visiting  the  Empress  in  person.  In  any 
case  I  have  the  honour  to  enclose  the  draft  of  a  letter 
which,  when  your  Majesty  has  received  the  news  of  her 
arrival,  can  be  sent  to  Prague. 

The  inferences  wliicli  might  be  drawn  from  the 
Prince  of  Hesse's  letter  are  entirely  contradicted  by 
what  Count  Capo  d'Istria  told  me,  that  the  Emperor 
Alexander  had  unfortunately  not  given  up  the  plan  of 
travelling — at  least  in  Upper  Italy — till  the  end  of  the 
meeting  at  Aix. 

Which  of  them  is  here  mistaken.  Count  Capo  d'Istria 

•  Empress  of  Russia. — Ed. 


172  METTERNICH   TO   EMPEROR  FRANCIS. 

or  tlie  Prince  of  Hesse,  seems  to  me  only  too  certain. 
I  have,  however,  in  any  case  written  to  the  former 
fixing  the  arrangements  in  Carlsbad,  so  that  his  answer 
to  me  may  reach  your  Majesty  with  the  desired  in- 
formation without  delay. 

What  the  Emperor  Alexander  intends  to  do  in 
Switzerland  in  November,  and  why  he  chooses  to  make 
the  passage  of  the  Simplon  at  this  time,  is,  indeed,  by  no 
reasoning  to  be  discovered. 

The  Emperor's  resolution  will,  however,  no  doubt 
decide  your  Majesty  to  go  to  Milan,  but  no  preparations 
can  be  made  until  the  truth  is  known  with  regard  to  the 
travelhng  plans  of  the  Emperor  Alexander. 

Metternich. 

290.  Frankfurt,  August  31. — Your  Majesty  has  re- 
quested me  through  the  Lord  High  Chamberlain  to 
propose  certain  gentlemen  to  attend  your  Majesty  to 
Aix,  besides  the  two  in  permanent  attendance. 

In  my  oj)inion,  these  should  be  chosen  from  reliable 
young  men  of  good  address,  who  may  be  of  service  for 
any  mission  that  is  required. 

I  propose  therefore  : — 

1.  Count  Ladislaus  Wrbna. 

2.  Count  Bellegarde. 

3.  Count  Felix  Woyna. 

Count  Wrbna  wishes  very  much  that  his  nephew, 
Major  Pozzo,  might  be  chosen  for  this  honour ;  I  find 
nothing  to  ol)ject  to  in  his  person,  but,  in  the  present 
case,  very  much  against  his  name.  Since  he  is  a  lord- 
in-waiting  (which  he  ought  not  to  be,  for  the  Pozzo 
family  was  never  one  of  the  Corsican nobility),  he  would 
be  suitable,  like  any  other  lord-in-waiting,  for  attendance 


MILITARY   ORGANISATION   OF   THE   BUND.  173 

on  your  Majesty  ;  but  just  at  this  meeting  at  Aix,  a  kind 
of  attention  might  be  anticipated  which  would  be  in  no 
way  beneficial. 

If  your  Majesty  wishes  for  four  instead  of  three 
lords-in-waiting,  Count  Schonfeld  or  any  other  good- 
looking  young  man  might  be  chosen, 

I  much  rei^ret  that  not  one  Italian  seems  to  be  at  the 

disposal  of  your  Majesty. 

Metternich. 

Noticed  ;  and,  as  Count  Felix  Woyna  is  with  his  regi- 
ment in  Hungary,  I  have  chosen  Counts  Wrbna,  Belle- 
garde,  and    Schonfeld    to    accompany   me   to   Aix-la- 

Chapelle. 

Francis. 

Baden,  Septern'ber  0,  I8I8. 

291.  Franl'furt,  Septemher  4. — May  it  please  your 
Majesty.  My  residence  in  this  place,  which  was  not  at  all 
intentional,  but  arose  from  a  shght  attack  of  rheumatic 
fever  (the  consequence  of  exposure  to  some  extremely 
bad  weather  during  my  journey  from  Bohemia),  has, 
however,  had  the  most  happy  results.  Since  my  ap- 
pearance in  Frankfurt  a  thorough  moral  revolution  has 
taken  place ;  the  diflerent  parties  had,  as  w^as  ex- 
pected, made  some  attempts  at  reconciliation,  and  what 
has  never  happened  before  has  been  accomplished 
under  my  immediate  direction. 

I  can  now  answer  for  it  that  the  Eeport  of  the  Bun- 
destag on  the  military  organisation  of  the  Bund  will  be 
returned  by  the  assembly  in  the  course  of  this  month. 
This  Eeport  is  the  very  work  itself,  for  it  is  the  result  of 
the  unanimous  deliberation  of  the  first  and  most  in- 
fluential Courts  with  the  co-operation  of  the  military 
representatives  of  the  whole  of  the  German  Govern- 


174  METTERNICH   TO   EMPEROR   FRANCIS. 

ments.  As  soon  as  the  Eeport  is  returned  the  assembly 
will  adjourn  for  two  months  and  take  holidays.  This 
time  coincides  with  that  of  the  conferences  at  Aix.  In 
this  way,  all  political  difficulty  is  obviated,  and  by  the 
conclusion  of  the  business  all  Eussian  interference  will 
be  prevented. 

During  the  journey  your  Majesty  will  see  some  of 
the  German  Princes.  At  the  right  moment  I  will  send 
your  Majesty  a  short  sketch  of  the  sentiments  which  it 
is  much  to  be  wished  should  emanate  from  your  Ma- 
jesty. Every  word  spoken  by  your  Majesty  at  this  time 
will  produce  the  greatest  effect.  One  must  be  in  the 
midst  of  Germany  to  understand  on  what  a  moral  height 
your  Majesty's  Court  now  stands.  In  this  respect  so 
much  ground  is  gained  that  it  can  only  be  lessened  by 
its  own  fault. 

I  shall  be  at  Johannisberg  by  the  7th  inst.,  and  on 
the  13th  I  shall  go  to  Chancellor  Hardenberg,  with  whom 
I  shall  go  Coblentz  on  the  14th  and  15th.  On  the 
16th  I  shall  return  to  the  Eheingau,  where  Count 
Mlinster  and  several  other  diplomatists  will  be  waiting 
for  me.  On  the  22nd  I  shall  pay  my  respects  to  your 
Majesty  at  Mayence. 

Metternich. 

Noticed  ;  and  I  shall  expect  the  sketch  of  what  you 
wish  me  to-say  in  Germany. 

Feancis. 

Baden,  September  9,  1818. 

292.  Please  your  Majesty.  From  the  news  which 
arrived  yesterday  by  the  Princess  of  Hesse-Homburg,  of 
the  health  of  her  mother,  the  Queen  of  England,  it  seems 
that  she  is  already  given  up  by  the  physicians.  They 
do  not  think  that  she  can  live  more  than  a  week  longer. 


THE  EMPEROR'S  JOURNEY.  175 

The  death  of  the  Queen  will  hasten  the  meeting  of 
Parliament  within  six  weeks'  time,  in  order  that  new 
measures  may  be  taken  for  the  care  of  the  King.  Lord 
Castlereagh,  who  had  foreseen  this,  has  already  pre- 
pared the  necessary  measures,  so  as  not  to  interrupt  his 

stay  in  Aix. 

Metternich. 

Noticed. 

Francis. 

Persenbeug,  September  17,  1818. 

293.  Schloss-Joliannisherg^  September  18. — May  it 
please  your  Majesty.  There  is  a  mistake  in  the  ar- 
rangements made  out  for  your  Majesty's  journey  which 
I  can  alter  from  this  place  without  any  delay.  They 
have  stationed  your  Majesty's  horses  at  Darmstadt :  in 
the  list  the  station  of  Langfeld  is  mentioned,  which  has 
lonfj  a<?o  ceased  to  exist.  The  station  is  now  removed 
to  Dieburg  ;  the  road  from  Darmstadt  to  Mayence  by 
Groszherau  is  disused  and,  in  every  sense  of  the  word, 
impracticable,  because  bridges  and  roads  have  been 
built  in  a  quite  different  direction.  At  Kostheim,  your 
Majesty  and  the  whole  suite  must  from  this  old  road 
cross  the  ferry  over  the  Main,  which  would  take  more 
than  half  a  day.  There  is  certainly  some  error  here, 
which  has  probably  arisen  from  the  use  of  an  old  post- 
book  by  the  person  who  prepared  the  list. 

The  Elector  of  Hesse,  too,  is  already  in  Hanau,  or 
rather  at  Wilhelmsbad,  close  by,  in  consequence  of  the 
hope  which  was  held  out  to  him  that  your  Majesty 
would  alight  there.  At  Frankfurt,  your  Majesty  is  ex- 
pected by  the  whole  population  with  indescribable  joy. 
According  to  the  list  made  out,  your  Majesty  would 
avoid  Hanau  and  Frankfurt  and    stop    at  Darmstadt, 


176  METTERNICH   TO   EMPEROR  FR^VNCIS. 

whose   Court   has   taken   such    a   miserable  course  in 
German  affairs,  and  in  no  way  deserves  this  distinction. 

I  have  told  Herr  von  Handel  how  the  road  now 
runs  de  facto ^  and  that  he  must  follow  it,  and  station 
the  horses  on  it,  de  facto. 

Since  your  Majesty  thinks  the  first  day  from  Mayence 
too  short,  I  will  make  preparations  for  your  Majesty  to 
stay  the  night  at  St,  Goar.  This  is  a  good  day's  journey 
on  the  Ehine — that  is,  if  your  Majesty  does  not  desire  to 
travel  after  dark,  which  presents  more  difficulty,  espe- 
cially on  the  river.  Your  Majesty's  retinue  will  travel 
by  land  along  the  banks  of  the  Ehine,  where  there  is  a 
new  high  road.  If  the  weather  should  be  bad,  your 
Majesty  may  choose  this  mode  of  travelling  instead 
of  going  on  the  river. 

As  your  Majesty  will  see  by  the  enclosure,  the  Em- 
peror Alexander  will  not  come  to  Aix  till  the  28th. 
The  King  of  Prussia  hopes  that  your  Majesty  will  not 
arrive  till  that  day,  in  order  to  give  him  the  advantage 
of  himself  receiving  your  Majesty.  It  will  thus  be  pos- 
sible for  your  Majesty  to  pass  a  day  at  Coblentz,  where 
the  new  fortifications  are  well  worthy  of  your  Majesty's 
attention  ;  I  should  the  more  wish  that  your  Majesty 
should  inspect  these  works  with  Duka  (Ordnance- 
Master)  as  they  are  made  on  a  new  principle  which 
with  the  greatest  security  unites  a  saving  of  expense  of 
certainly  two-thirds. 

The  works  are  very  far  advanced  and  conducted  by 
Saxon  engineers,  who  are  distinguished  by  real  talent. 
It  is  almost  incredible  that  what  is  already  finislied  has 
cost  no  more  than  800,000  thalers.  By  the  end  of  this 
year  Coblentz  will  afibrd  room  for  60,000  men. 

I  send  to  meet  your  Majesty  at  Esselbach  Kerr  von 
Handel,  to  receive  your  Majesty's  orders  for  the  journey 


THE   ELECTOR   OF   HESSE.  177 

from  that  place  to  Aix,  and  carry  out  all  the  arrange- 
ments, allowing  for  the  proposed  delay  of  one  day. 

Metternich. 

Eeceived   and  noticed.     The  enclosed  E6ports  are 

herewith  returned. 

Francis. 

Aix-la-Chapelle,  September  29,  1818. 

294.  Johannisberg,  Sept.  19. — In  passing  through 
Hanau,  your  Majesty  will  see  the  Elector.  Annexed  to 
this  your  Majesty  will  find  a  Report  of  General  Wacquant 
concerning  the  Elector's  very  great  wish  to  attain  the 
Royal  dignity. 

My  feeling  is  entirely  against  the  thing.  In  relation 
to  the  Bund,  nothing  now  ought  to  be  altered,  even  in 
name ;  the  dignity  of  the  Crown  certainly  requires  that  the 
domain  of  a  king  should  consist  of  more  than  one  circle. 

The  Elector  seems  conscious  of  this,  and  suggests 
the  most  futile  expedient  of  a  collective  Royal  dignity, 
which  must  deprive  that  dignity  of  all  value. 

I  propose,  therefore,  with  all  respect,  that  your  Ma- 
jesty should  declare  with  regard  to  this  matter  that  it 
is  of  a  nature  which  your  Majesty  cannot  alone  decide. 

If  the  Elector  should  ask  your  Majesty's  advice, 
whether  he  should  make  any  advances  towards  the 
other  monarchs  (he  has  already  approached  Prussia  on 
the  subject),  your  Majesty  should  advise  him  not  to  do 
so,  and  promise  to  talk  over  the  matter  confidentially 
at  Aix. 

With  respect  to  the  German  Bund,  your  Majesty 
might  say  to  the  Elector — 

'  That  your  Majesty  observes  with  sorrow  the  course 
that  the  Elector  has  lately  taken  at  variance  with  his 
distinct  promise  to  your  Majesty's  Cabinet. 

VOL.  III.  N 


178  METTERNICH   TO   EMPEROR  FRANCIS. 

*  That  your  Majesty  would  make  the  proposal  of  a 
division  of  the  combined  contingents  into  three  corps, 
which,  however,  would  by  no  means  allow  Hesse  to  be 
with  Wurtemberg.  Each  one  of  the  confederation  must 
keep  to  his  own  geographical  position.  The  crossing 
of  the  regular  line  of  halting-places  must  be  avoided. 
The  corps  would  have  to  be  as  equal  in  strength  to 
one  another  as  possible.  Too  strong  corps  would  form 
armies,  and  too  weak  corps,  divisions,  which  give  a 
great  opening  to  the  passion  for  incorporation. 

'  How  the  three  corps  should  be  composed  will  have 
to  be  immediately  arranged  by  your  Majesty's  minis- 
ter ;  but  that  Hesse  can  never  be  with  Wurtemberg 
results  from  the  geographical  position  of  the  two  States. 
That  it  could  not  be  agreeable  to  the  Elector  to  aban- 
don his  own  country,  and  withdraw  from  it  to  an  arti- 
ficial line — a  line  on  which  the  whole  Bavarian  army 
would  be  drawn  up  between  Hesse  and  the  corps  to 
which  Hesse's  army  wished  to  be  attached :  a  line,  too, 
which  must  be  crossed  by  way  of  Saxony.' 

If  your  Majesty  should  wish  for  more  details  on  this 
question,  Herr  von  Handel,  whom  I  send  to  Esselbach 
to  receive  your  Majesty's  orders,  is  quite  able  to  give 
your  Majesty  every  information. 

I  have,  besides,  conferred  with  the  ambassadors 
assembled  here,  in  order  to  bring  the  military  question 
to  a  conclusion  in  the  first  place  here  in  Frankfurt — 
before  Aix-la-Chapelle.  I  flatter  myself  that  in  this 
respect  the  last  three  weeks  which  I  have  spent  here 
have  effected  more  than  anything  which  has  been  done, 
and  have  certainly  led  to  the  happy  result  of  withdraw- 
ing every  complication  from  Aix-la-Chapelle. 

I  shall  have  the  honour  to  expect  your  Majesty  in 
Mayence  on  the  22nd. 


MILITARY   NEGOTIATION  AT   FRANKTURT.  179 

If  your  Majesty  should  give  a  regiment  to  the  Elec- 
tor, this  could  only  be  done  in  consequence  of  good 
conduct  on  his  part  as  to  the  affairs  of  the  Diet.  I 
cannot  express  any  desire  for  such  a  favour  to  the  Elec- 
toral Prince.  Neither  his  personal  attitude  nor  the 
value  of  his  services  entitle  him  to  receive  it. 

Metternich. 

The  Elector  has  spoken  to  me  of  his  desire  for  the 

Eoyal  dignity  in  a  way  that  showed  how  much  he  is 

bent  on   attaining  it.     I  gathered   from  what  he  said 

about  the  German  contingents  that  he  had  given  up  his 

idea  of  joining  his  troops  in  one  corps  with  those  of 

Wurtemberg.     No   mention  was  made  of  the  subject 

of  the  regiment.     I  return  the  documents  that  were 

enclosed,    and    take   notice   of  the    other  contents    of 

your  Eeport. 

Francis. 

Aix-la-Ohapelle,  September  27,  1818. 

295.  Aiv-la-Chapelle,  October  7. — Annexed  I  have 
the  honour  to  lay  before  your  Majesty  a  preliminary 
survey  of  the  military  negotiation  at  Frankfurt. 

A  slight  glance  will  convince  your  Majesty  that  the 
work  touches  on  all  the  chief  questions  of  a  vigorous 
military  organisation.  Your  Majesty  will  deign  to  ob- 
serve that  it  is  worked  out  in  detail  with  the  same 
cogency  as  the  Report  to  the  Bund,  which  I  expect  in 
two  or  three  days. 

This  affair  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  important 
of  the  present  time,  and,  if  I  do  not  regret  the  great 
and  continuous  labour  it  has  cost  me  for  more  than  a 
year,  it  is  only  from  the  feeling  of  having  rendered  a 
true  service  to  your  Majesty  and  afforded  substantial 
support  to  society  in  Europe.     The  most  difficult  matter 

N  2 


180  METTERNICH  TO   EMPEROR  FRANCIS. 

was  the  bringing  to  an  agreement  at  the  right  moment 
so  many  opinions  or  feehngs,  often  separated  by  the 
most  paltry  and  unworthy  considerations.  Nothing, 
too,  could  be  more  judicious  than  to  show  that,  at  the 
very  moment  of  the  evacuation  of  France,  Germany 
is  able  to  bear  arms,  and  to  render  impossible  any 
interference  from  Aix-la-Chapelle  with  purely  Federal 
affairs. 

In  this  respect  I  consider  ray  last  stay  in  Frankfurt 
as  a  moment  favoured  by  fortune  beyond  all  calcu- 
lation. 

The  Bund  will  adjourn  from  the  12th  instant  till 
January. 

Metteknich. 

Eeceived  and  noticed.  You  will  lay  before  me  as 
soon  as  possible  the  details  of  the  military  organisation 
of  the  German  Confederation,  for  what  you  enclose  is 
only  a  summary  of  the  subjects  which  this  organisation 
concerns. 

Feancis. 

Ak-la-Chapelle,  October  8,  1818. 

296.  Aix-la-Chapelle,  October  25. — Your  Majesty. 
The  painter  Lawrence  has  received  the  necessary  ma- 
terials which  he  was  expecting,  and  will  wait  upon 
your  Majesty  to  begin  the  sittings.  He  has  made  his 
arrangements  in  the  Town  Hall.* 


Eeceived  and  noticed. 


Aix-la-Chapelle,  October  26,  1818. 


Metteknich. 


Francis. 


*  The  portrait  of  the  Emperor  Francis  taken  by  Lawrence  is  in  the 
Waterloo  Chamber  at  Windsor. — Ed. 


AMBASSADORS   LEAVE   AIX-LA-CHAPELLE.  181 

297.  Aix-la-Chapelle,  October  28. — Your  Majesty. 
I  hasten  to  lay  before  your  Majesty  a  Eeport  that  has 
just  arrived  here  from  Eio  Janeiro,  as  it  contains  the 
news  of  what  we  may  hope  is  the  happy  prospect  of 
the  pregnancy  of  the  Archduchess  Leopoldine. 

Metternich. 

'Received  and  noticed.  The  Report  enclosed  is  re- 
turned herewith. 

Francis. 

Aix-la-Chapelle,  October  29,  1818. 

298.  Aix-la-Chapelle,  November  17. — Your  Majesty. 
In  the  Conference  to-day  the  Duke  of  Richeheu  made  a 
proposal  as  to  the  affairs  of  Spain  with  regard  to  her 
colonies,  which  will  be  followed  by  so  important  a  dis- 
cussion that  I  was  obliged  to  submit  to  the  unanimous 
wish  of  my  colleagues  that  I  should  assist  at  the  debate. 
In  any  case  I  must  be  back  here  next  Saturday,  the  day 
when  the  Duke  of  WelHngton  will  take  part  in  the 
Conference. 

I  have  therefore  determined  to  leave  for  the  Con- 
ference at  Brussels  on  Saturday,  the  21st  instant,  instead 
of  to-morrow,  the  18th.  Most  of  the  ambassadors  will 
then  leave  Aix-la-Chapelle  also  on  the  22nd. 

This  delay  will  not  affect  my  whole  journey,  but  I 
have  thought  it  proper  to  inform  your  Majesty  of  it. 

The  King  of  Prussia  is  stiU  so  suffering  that  he  pro- 
bably will  not  be  able  to  go  to  Brussels  at  all. 

Metternich. 
Received  and  noticed.    ... 

Francis. 

Aix-la-Chapelle,  November  17,  1818. 


182 


THE  CONGRESS  OF  AIX-LA-CHAPELLE. 

Autograph  (pencil)  memoranda  by  Metternich  on  loose  sheets. 

299.  The  Act  of  Guarantee. 

300.  The  Coahtion  and  Quadruple  AlUance. 

301.  A  glance  at  the  state  of  things,  November  1,  1818. 

302.  Eight  Principles. 

Act  of  Guarantee. 
A. 

299.  The  Emperor  Alexander  proposes  a  recipro- 
cal Act  of  Guarantee  concerning  the  present  possessions 
of  each  of  the  contracting  parties. 

It  appears  that  the  Emperor  Alexander  even  aims 
at  estabhshing  the  casus  foederis  on  a  common  basis, 
against  any  extension  whatever,  by  any  of  the  parties, 
of  his  present  possessions.  He  explicitly  confines  the 
act  and  the  guarantee  to  possessions  in  Europe. 

B. 

Not  only  is  there  no  difficulty  about  the  Courts  of 
Austria  and  Prussia  taking  part  in  such  an  act,  but 
they  will  find  it  a  great  security.  It  is  not  so  with  the 
British  Government,  who  will  find  it  impossible  to  take 
a  direct  and  obligatory  part  in  so  extensive  an  act  of 
guarantee. 

Ought  the  Continental  Courts  to  reject  the  proposi- 
tion of  the  Emperor  Alexander  because  England  cannot 
be  one  of  the  contracting  parties  ? 


ACT   OF   GUAEANTEE.  183 

Ouo'ht  they  to  conclude  the  treaty  with  the 
exclusion  of  England? 

These  are  the  most  important  questions  of  the 
moment. 

Is  there  any  form  which  would  offer  all  the  advan- 
tages resulting  from  such  a  treaty  ? — namely 

1.  The  feeling  of  security  which  would  follow  such 
a  transaction  ; 

2.  The  moral  impossibility  for  the  Emperor  Alex- 
ander to  attempt  any  extension  of  his  frontiers  ; 

3.  The  strength  which  the  civil  party  in  the 
Prussian  Government  would  acquire  over  the  military 
party,  who  aim  only  at  disturbing  the  possessions  of 
their  neighbours  ; 

4.  The  effect  which  such  an  act  would  produce 
on  the  minds  of  people  and  parties,  especially  the  latter, 
who  would  no  longer  see  any  chance  of  success  for  their 
criminal  hopes,  except  in  political  movement. 

Considering  the  principle  of  harmony  and  moral 
solidarity  which  ought  to  exist  between  all  the  Powers, 
and  especially  between  those  of  the  Continent  and  Eng- 
land, what  could  be  the  form  which,  without  making 
the  material  question  of  the  guarantee  bear  upon 
England,  would  shew  the  moral  concurrence  of  that 
Power  ? 

The  Coalition  and  the  Quadrujjle  Alliance. 

300.  The  Coalition  was  a  general  alliance.  The 
Quadruple  Alliance  is  not  tliat,  and  never  has  been. 

It  is  formed  on  a  peculiar  element  in  the  Coalition. 

It  is  to  last  twenty  years,  for  its  moral  aim  is  ap- 
pUcable  to  all  times  and  all  circumstances,  while  the 
Coalition  liad,  and  could  have  but  one  aim,  and  con- 
sequently must  have  a  definite  termination. 


184  CONGRESS  OF  AIX-LA-CHAPELLE. 

The  Coalition  dates  from  the  alhance  of  the  two 
Powers  which  were  first  united  against  France  ;  it  was 
strengthened  at  KaHsch,  at  Tephtz,  at  Frankfurt,  at 
Basle.  It  was  completed  in  1814  by  the  passage  of  the 
Ehine ;  it  came  to  an  end  at  the  signature  of  the  Peace 
of  Paris. 

After  the  opening  of  the  Congress  of  Vienna  no 
trace  was  left  of  the  Coalition.  France  was  at  the  Con- 
gress placed  on  the  same  level  as  the  other  Powers. 

The  Quadruple  Alliance,  however,  remains  strong 
and  intact  in  its  moral  and  general  dispositions.  This 
it  was  wkicli  on  March  15  served  as  a  nucleus  for  the 
new  Coalition,  which  came  to  an  end,  like  the  first,  by 
the  signature  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris  on  November  20. 

The  Quadruple  Alliance,  therefore,  is  not  to  be,  and 
cannot  be,  confounded  with  the  general  alhance,  which 
was  nothing  more  than  the  Coalition. 

The  Coalition  was,  and  could  only  be,  an  element 
of  war. 

The  Quadruple  Alhance  is,  and  has  always  been,  a 
principle  of  peace. 

Now,  it  would  be  almost  as  impossible  to  merge  the 
Quadruple  Alliance  in  a  general  alliance  as  it  would  be 
to  merge  the  elements  of  peace  and  war  together. 

And  to  this  principle  of  peace,  which  forms  the  first 
and  essential  basis  of  the  Quadruple  Alliance,  France 
chiefly  owes  it  that  she  was  not  subdivided  in  1815,  and 
that  the  ill-feelings  which  the  reception  of  Bonaparte  in 
France  necessarily  provoked  among  the  Courts  and  the 
peoples  of  Europe  were  mitigated  and  controlled. 


QUADRUPLE    ALLIANCE.  185 

Abridged  Summary  of  the  Situation  on  November  1, 1818. 

I.   PRINCIPLES. 

1.  < 

301.  One  alliance  exists,  the  Quadruple  Alliance. 

The  casus  foederis  of  this  aUiance  is  specially  suit- 
able to  its  form. 

The  safety  of  the  four  contracting  Courts  requires 
that  it  be  explicitly  maintained. 

The  interest  of  France  requires  it  also. 

Consequently,  prudence  indicates  one  law  for  the 
five  Courts  : — 

1st.  The  maintenance  of  the  Quadruple  Alhance. 

2nd.  In  this  maintenance,  any  appearance  of  menace 
to  France — tranquil,  governed  by  her  legitimate  King 
and  under  constitutional  forms — must  be  avoided. 

The  means  of  attaining  this  double  end  should  be 
sought  in  the  choice  of  forms  and  expressions  in  the 
political  transactions  to  be  settled  during  the  meeting  at 
Aix-la-Chapelle.  .         . 

2. 

France,  however,  does  not  find  herself  placed  in  a 
situation  analogous  to  that  of  the  other  Powers. 

She  is  just  issuing  from  the  revolutionary  move- 
ment ;  she  is  a  prey  to  many  parties ;  her  territory 
has  been  set  free  ;  the  Quadruple  Alliance  exists,  and 
this  fact  alone  makes  possible  coercive  action  against 
France,  if  the  latter  should  be  again  tlirown  into  a  re- 
volutionary  crisis.  France  shoidd  not  be,  either  in  her 
own  interest  or  in  tliat  of  the  four  Courts  and  of 
Europe,  abandoned  thus  to  herself.  It  is  therefore  ne- 
cessary to  unite  her  to  these  Courts  by  a  pohtical 
combination. 


186  CONGRESS   OF   AlX-LA-CHAPELLE. 

This  end  cannot  be  attained  by  means  of  a  treaty  of 
alliance — 

1st.  Because  it  is  not  in  the  interest  of  a  system  of 
peace  to  create  new  alliances  ; 

2nd.  Because  a  treaty  of  alliance  demands  a  casus 
foederis. 

There  is  no  possibility  of  establishing  a  casus  foederis 
between  the  five  Courts,  and  the  endeavour  to  establish 
one  on  the  maintenance  of  peace  among  States  not  ad- 
mitted to  the  alliance  would  be  absurd. 

The  means  of  attaining  the  end  desired  by  the  four 
Courts,  and  which  ought  to  be  desired  by  the  King  of 
France,  may  be  found — 

1st.  In  the  terms  of  Article  VI.  of  the  Treaty  of 
Alliance  of  November  20,  1815  ; 

2nd.  In  the  form  of  a  diplomatic  agreement  (other 
than  a  treaty)  between  the  five  Courts,  having  for  its 
one  definite  end  the  maintenance  of  the  general  peace. 

3. 

The  diplomatic  agreement  bearing  only  on  the  five 
Courts,  it  would  be  necessary  to  deprive  it  of  any  ten- 
dency to  disturb  the  other  Courts  of  Europe.  The 
means  will  be  found — 

1st.  By  its  being  drawn  up  in  an  exceediiigly  clear 
and  precise  manner  suited  to  establish  the  agreement 
between  the  five  Courts  on  the  principle  of  the  pre- 
servation of  peace  and  the  maintenance  of  the  best  rela- 
tions among  themselves  ; 

2nd.  In  a  definite  encfagement  between  the  five 
Courts  not  to  attempt  to  extend  the  action  of  their 
agreements  to  interests  peculiar  to  other  Courts ; 

3rd.  In  the  enunciation  of  these  facts  to  the  Courts 
which  have  acceded  to  the  transactions  of  the  last  few 


QUADEUPLE    ALLIANCE.  187 

years,  and  in  the  positive  assurance  of  the  determination 
of  the  five  Courts — 

{a)  That  they  do  not  wish  to  arrogate  to  themselves 
the  riglit  of  discussing  or  deciding  a  question  which  is 
beyond  their  direct  interests  ; 

(b)  That  they  are  decided,  and  engage  themselves, 
never  to  touch  upon  a  question  connected  with  the  in- 
terest of  a  third  party  witliout  the  direct  intervention 
of  that  third  party. 

II.    FORMS. 


The  sanction  of  the  Quadruple  Alliance  must  take 
place  between  the  four  Courts. 

Confidential  communication  of  the  act  which  contains 
this  sanction  should  be  made  to  the  King  of  France. 


The  establishment  of  the  diplomatic  agreement  be- 
tween the  five  Courts. 

3. 

The  communication  to  Europe  of  the  fact  of  this 
concert. 

Ad  1st.  The  sanction  of  the  Quadruple  Alliance 
should  be  recorded  in  a  secret  protocol. 

Ad  2nd.  The  concert  to  be  established  between  the 
five  Courts  demands — 

An  invitation  to  France  ; 

A  protocol  which  will  regulate  the  agreement 
between  the  five  Courts. 

Ad  3rd.  A  communication  to  the  other  Courts 
should  take  place,  either  under  the  form  of  a  declara- 
tion of  the  five  Courts,  or  that  of  a  uniform  and  circular 


188  CONGRESS   OF  AIX-LA-CHAPELLE. 

despatch  of  the  five  Cabinets  to  tlieir  accredited  mi- 
nisters at  the  Courts  of  Europe. 

Right  Principles. 

302.  The  treaty  of  Chaumont  forms  the  basis  of 
the  Quadruple  AlHance. 

This  treaty  contains  some  permanent  stipulations, 
and  others  which  are  temporary. 

The  treaties  between  the  four  allies,  subsequent  to 
that  of  Chaumont,  contain  the  same  differences. 

It  is  now  necessary  to  maintain :  1st,  the  permanent 
clauses  of  the  Quadruple  Alhance  ;  2nd,  the  casus  foederis 
against  France  ;  3rd,  to  fix  the  meetings  on  the 
principle — 

[a)  Of  periodical  meetings,  with  six  months'  notice 
if  there  is  no  necessity  to  hold  one ; 

(h)  Of  extraordinary  meetings,  to  be  called  for  on 
special  occasions. 


189 


THE  RESULTS  OF  THE  CONGRESS  AT  AIX-LA- 

CHAPELLE. 

Memoir,  by  Friedrich  Gentz,  Aix-la-Chapelle, 
November  1818.* 

303.  It  is  neither  by  the  number  of  its  decisions, 
nor  by  their  direct  importance,  that  the  Congress  of 
Aix-la-Chapelle  stands  forth  in  the  pohtical  transac- 
tions of  our  time.  It  had  in  reality  only  one  question 
to  decide,!  and  it  honourably  acquitted  itself.  The 
moderation,  the  kindliness,  the  delicacy  with  which 
everything  was  treated  in  these  conferences  that  related 
to  the  evacuation  of  French  territory,  and  to  a  number 
of  points  connected  with  it,  might  serve  as  a  model  to 

*  This  memoir  was  sent  by  Gentz  to  Metternich  with  the  following  lines : — 
'  I  have  drawn  up,  for  my  new  correspondent  (Prince  Souzo),  a  sketch  of  the 
most  important  negotiations  at  Aix,  as  an  introduction  to  my  future  com- 
munications. Of  this  the  accompanying  Observations  generales  form  the  con- 
clusion. It  is  very  possible  that  your  Excellency  may  find  their  point  of 
view  somewhat  too  elevated  ;  I  feel  it  myself,  to  a  certain  degree  ;  but  it  is 
difficult  to  tone  oneself  down  in  handling  so  great  a  subject.  In  any  case, 
I  believe,  your  Excellency  will  find  these  remarks  not  quite  unworthy  of 
your  approbation,  and  if  I  am  not  deceived  in  this  hope  I  shall  be  sufficiently 
rewarded.'  These  concluding  remarks  have  been  published  (Prokesch, 
Depeches  inedites,  1870,  vol.  i.  p.  396). — Ed. 

t  An  article  in  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  of  November  20,  1816,  contained  the 
declaration  that  after  the  space  of  three  years  the  Allied  Powers,  in  concert 
with  the  King  of  France,  were  to  decide  whether  the  condition  of  France 
was  such  that  the  foreign  troops  could  be  withdrawn,  or  whether  the  occu- 
pation must  continue  for  five  years.  It  was  to  decide  this  question  that  the 
Congress  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  was  summoned.  Beside  the  three  allied 
monarchs,  there  were  there  assembled  the  Austrian  diplomatists,  Metternich, 
Vincent,  and  Gentz ;  the  Russians,  Capo  d'Lstria,  Nesselrode,  Lieven  ;  the 
Prussians,  Ilardenberg,  Humboldt,  Bernstorff;  the  English,  Wellington, 
Castlereagh,  Canning;  the  French,  llichelieu,  Rayneval,  and  Mounier. — Ed. 


190  MEMOIR  BY  GENTZ. 

future  negotiations,  and  if  France  herself  has  not  done 
sufficient  justice  to  these  proceedings,  they  will  not  the 
less  be  a  matter  of  history. 

Considerations  of  the  greatest  weight  prevented  the 
sovereigns  and  ministers  there  met  together  from 
approaching,  without  urgent  necessity,  other  subjects 
of  discussion — especially  from  approaching  them  in 
regular  and  official  forms.  But  all  those  which  were 
the  subject  of  their  confidential  deliberations  were 
treated  in  a  spirit  of  peace,  justice,  and  wisdom,  and 
not  a  resolution  was  taken,  not  a  protocol  signed,  which 
did  not  tend  to  consolidate  public  order,  or  to  devise 
remedies  for  complications  which  might  endanger  it. 

Nevertheless,  it  is  not  by  its  positive  and  material 
results  alone  that  we  must  judge  of  the  Congress  of 
Aix-la-Chapelle ;  we  must  look  at  it  in  its  general 
effect,  in  the  whole  of  the  political  and  federal  relations 
which  it  has  established  or  materially  strengthened,  and 
in  the  influence  which  the  mind  which  directed  it  may 
exercise  on  the  present  and  future  destinies  of  Europe. 
From  this  elevated  point  of  view  the  Congress  of  Aix-la- 
Chapelle  is  an  event  of  the  highest  importance,  of  which 
the  superficial  observer  takes  in  perhaps  only  a  few 
separate  features,  and  which  a  statesman  alone — looking 
into  the  hidden  causes  and  meaninofs  of  things — can 
appreciate. 

Not  being  able  to  include  here  all  that  belongs  to  so 
vast  a  subject,  I  shall  confine  myself  to  some  observa- 
tions on  the  political  and  moral  tendency  of  the  con- 
ferences of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  under  three  heads,  which 
seem  to  me  to  deserve  particular  attention. 


RESULTS   OF  THE   CONGRESS.  191 

/.  Concerning  the  General  Political  System. 

The  whole  of  the  European  Powers  have  since  1813 
been  united,  not  by  an  alhance  properly  so  called,  but 
by  a  system  of  cohesion  founded  on  crenerally  recognised 
principles,  and  on  treaties  in  which  every  State,  great 
or  small,  has  found  its  proper  place.  One  might  deny 
that  this  state  of  things  is  what,  according  to  the 
old  political  ideas,  characterised  a  federative  or  well- 
balanced  system.  But  it  is  not  the  less  certain  that, 
in  the  present  circumstances  of  Europe — circumstances 
which  she  will  not  quickly  get  rid  of — this  system  is 
the  one  most  suited  to  her  needs,  and  that  the  destruc- 
tion of  that  system  would  be  a  dreadful  calamity  ;  for, 
as  not  one  of  the  States  comprehended  in  it  could 
remain  isolated,  all  of  them  would  enter  into  new 
political  combinations,  and  adopt  new  measures  for 
their  safety  ;  consequently  new  alliances,  changes, 
juxtapositions,  intrigues,  indescribable  complications, 
by  a  thousand  different  chances,  all  equally  fatal,  would 
bring  us  to  a  general  war — that  is  to  say  (for  the  two 
terms  are  almost  synonymous),  to  the  entire  overthrow 
of  all  social  order  in  Europe. 

We  must  remember  that  during  the  year  1817, 
and  up  to  the  summer  of  1818,  some  of  these  terrible 
dangers  occupied,  not  only  the  idle  conjectures  of  the 
public,  but  the  thoughts  of  statesmen,  filling  them 
with  great  uneasiness  and  the  most  sinister  presenti- 
ments. At  that  time  a  change  of  policy  in  Eussia  was 
particularly  dreaded  :  different  symptoms,  perhaps 
misunderstood  at  the  time,  had  given  rise  to  the 
suspicion  that  the  Emperor  Alexander  aimed  at  a  close 
alliance  with  the  House  of  Bourbon  in  France,  Spain, 
and  Italy.     Such  a  combination  would  have  put  all  the 


192  MEMOIR  BY  GENTZ. 

intermediary  States  in  the  most  critical  position.  It 
would  have  certainly  provoked  a  counter  combination 
between  Austria,  Prussia,  and  England.  The  Powers 
of  the  second  and  third  rank  would  have  been  divided 
between  the  two  standards.  Germany,  the  central 
point  of  Europe,  now  united,  would  have  run  the  risk 
of  again  being  torn  in  pieces,  in  more  senses  in  one.  The 
jealousies,  fears,  disputes,  provocations — inseparable 
from  such  a  state  of  things — would  have  soon  placed 
these  two  opposite  political  bodies  in  a  thoroughly 
hostile  attitude,  and  the  first  serious  contest  would  have 
caused  an  explosion. 

It  is  true  that  these  suspicions  and  disquietudes  had 
in  a  great  measure  disappeared  some  months  before  the 
meeting  at  Aix-la-Chapelle  ;  but  that  meeting  has 
brought  about  two  inestimable  advantages.  First, 
that  of  having  entirely  cleared  the  ground,  removed  all 
doubts,  and  fully  re-established  the  confidence  of  each 
of  the  Cabinets  in  the  proceedings  and  principles  of  tlie 
other,  and  in  the  stability  of  the  general  harmony. 
Secondly,  that  of  having  by  confidential  interviews, 
earnest  discussions,  and  the  contact  of  intelligent  minds, 
imbued  the  sovereigns  and  their  ministers  with  the 
necessity  of  maintaining  intact  a  system  which,  what- 
ever its  theoretical  merits  or  defects,  is  at  present  the 
only  one  practicable^  the  only  one  which  conduces  to 
the  real  interests  of  all  the  Powers — the  anchor  of 
salvation  for  Europe. 

//.  Concerning  the  Position  of  the  Powers  with  regard 

to  France. 
The  confirmation  of  the  Quadruple  Alliance,  in  case  of 
new  catastrophes  occurring  in  the  interior  of  France, 
and  menancing  the  repose  of  her  neighbours,  is  one  of 


STATE   OF   EUROPE.  193 

tlie  most  solid  benefits  wliicli  we  owe  to  the  Congress  of 
Aix-la-Cliapelle.  It  was  not  easy  to  draw  tlie  line 
between  an  imperious  attitude,  Avliicli,  instead  of  sub- 
duing a  storm,  might  perhaps  have  raised  and  accele- 
rated it,  and  a  contingent  measure  of  precaution,  merely 
sufficiently  imposing  to  carry  weight  ;  but  competent 
judges  will  acknowledge  that  it  has  been  done  with 
much  prudence  and  discretion.  It  is  allowable  to 
consider  the  danger  against  which  this  measure  was 
aimed  as  more  or  less  probable,  as  more  or  less  im- 
minent ;  but  it  is  impossible  not  to  admit  the  reality  of 
its  existence,  and  that,  in  the  present  state  of  things, 
France  is  the  country  least  disposed  to  respect  the 
general  tranquillity,  the  best  placed  and  best  organised 
to  disturb  it,  and  the  one  which  some  years  hence 
Avill  be  able  to  attack  it  most  successfully.  So  long  as 
the  Quadruple  Alhance  exists,  strengthened  as  it  is  at 
present  by  the  whole  military  weight  of  Germany,  the 
most  audacious  head  of  a  party,  or  even  a  King  of  France 
carried  away  by  popular  excitement,  would  not  lightly 
give  the  signal  for  fresh  conflicts.  Thus  at  least  one 
of  the  clouds  which  threaten  our  dark  horizon  will  be 
held  in  check  by  a  proper  union  of  strengtli  ;  and,  had 
we  only  given  this  one  security — enclosed,  so  to  speak, 
in  the  general  association  which  makes  the  basis  of  the 
state  of  peace— the  Congress  would  have  deserved  well 
of  mankind. 

[II.  Concerning  the  Moral  a7id  Political  State  of  Europe. 

All  European  countries,  without  exception,  are 
tormented  by  a  burning  fever,  the  companion  or  fore- 
runner of  the  most  violent  convulsions  which  the  civilised 
world  has  seen  since  the  fall  of  the  Eoman  Empire. 
It  is  a  struggle,  it  is  war  to  the  death  between  old  and 
VOL.  in.  0 


194  MEMOIR   BY   GENTZ. 

new  principles,  and  between  the  old  and  a  new  social 
order.  By  a  fatality,  so  to  speak  inevitable,  the  re- 
action of  1813,  which  has  suspended  but  not  terminated 
the  revolutionary  movement  in  Trance,  has  aroused  it  in 
the  other  States.  All  the  elements  are  in  fermentation  ; 
the  equilibrium  of  authority  is  threatened ;  the  most 
solid  institutions  are  shaken  to  their  foundations,  hke 
the  buildings  in  a  city  trembhng  from  the  first  shocks 
of  an  earthquake  which  in  a  few  instants  will  destroy 
it.  If  in  this  dreadful  crisis  the  principal  sovereigns  of 
Europe  were  disunited  in  principles  and  intentions  ;  if 
one  approved  what  the  others  condemned  ;  if  but  one 
amongst  them  looked  on  the  embarrassments  of  his 
neigiibours  as  a  means  of  advancing  his  own  interests, 
or  if  he  regarded  the  whole  prospect  with  blind  or 
criminal  indifierence ;  if,  in  short,  the  eyes  of  all  were 
not  open  to  the  revolutions  which  are  preparing,  and 
the  means  wliicli  remain  to  them  for  preventing  or 
retarding  the  explosion,  we  should  be  all  carried  away 
in  a  very  few  years.  But,  happily,  such  are  not  the 
dispositions  of  the  princes  who  are  protectors  and 
preservers  of  public  order  ;  tlieir  intimate  union, 
'  calme  et  constante  dans  son  actioji^'  is  the  counterpoise 
to  the  disorder  which  turbulent  spirits  try  to  bring 
into  human  affairs  ;  the  nucleus  of  organised  strengtli 
which  this  union  presents  is  the  barrier  which  Provi- 
dence itself  appears  to  have  raised  to  preserve  the  old 
order  of  society,  or  at  least  to  moderate  and  soften  the 
changes  which  are  indispensable.  Now,  this  truly 
sacred  union,  of  which  the  Holy  Alliance  is  but  an 
imperfect  symbol,  was  never  manifested  in  a  more  re- 
assuring manner  tlian  at  the  time  of  the  conferences 
at  Aix-la-Chapelle.  Xot  that  they  approached  any  of 
these  dangerous  questions,  which  would  have  been  pre- 


STATE   OF   EUROPE.  ]  95 

texts  for  general  agitation  ;  tliey  discussed  neither  the 
form  of  governments,  nor  the  representative  system, 
nor  the  maintenance  or  modification  of  the  privileges 
of  the  nobility,  nor  the  liberty  of  the  press,  nor  any- 
thing touching  the  interests  of  religion.  Tliey  carefully 
avoided  giving  opportunities  for  malevolence  or  indis- 
cretion by  putting  into  the  formal  documents  wislies 
or  declarations  of  which  each  carried  the  principle  in 
his  mind,  but  the  enunciation  of  which  would  have 
provoked  vexatious  and  hostile  criticism.  They  did 
better  than  that.  Sovereigns  and  ministers  understood 
what  the  common  good  required.  They  felt  keenly 
the  need  of  mutual  confidence  and  more  direct  agree- 
ment than  that  which  treaties  could  establish  ;  they 
sacrificed  secondary  interests,  which  under  less  serious 
circumstances,  might  have  divided  them,  to  the  para- 
mount interest  of  uniting  to  defend  the  trust  which 
Providence  had  confided  to  them,  and  put  aside  every 
other  consideration,  to  preserve  authority  in  the  sliip- 
wreck  by  saving  the  people  from  their  own  follies. 
Without  entering  into  unnecessary  engagements,  they 
have  all  agreed  on  the  course  to  be  followed  amid  the 
tempest,  and  the  only  title  which  they  have  solemnly 
brought  forward  to  justify  and  authorise  this  course  is 
the  declaration  that  justice,  moderation,  and  concord 
shall  ever  preside  in  their  councils. 

Thus  it  is  that  the  Congress  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  has 
fulfilled  its  high  mission.  The  general  impression  it 
has  made  in  Europe  is  its  best  witness.  While  main- 
taining a  silence  suited  to  its  position  and  dignity, 
only  interrupted  by  a  small  number  of  publications,  it 
has  everywhere  encouraged  the  friends  of  order  and 
peace,  and  terrified  innovators  and  the  factious.  A 
Congress  of  diplomatists  cannot,  as  such,   change  the 

0  2 


196  MEMOIR   BY   GENTZ. 

destinies  of  the  world ;  but  it  can  guide  them,  it  can 
moderate  them,  it  can  prevent  many  evils  which  would 
aggravate  them ;  and  if  the  effects  which  may  reason- 
ably be  expected  from  the  last  meeting  of  the 
sovereigns  should  be  stultified  by  events  above  human 
calculations,  it  will  still  liave  the  glory  of  having  been 
the  support  and  the  consolation  of  right-thinking  men. 


197 


METTERNICR8  PROJECTS  FOR  DIFFERENT 
REFORMS  IN  PRUSSIA. 

304.  Metternich  to  Prince  Wittgenstein,  Prussian  Minister  of  State,  Aix, 
November  14,  1818  (with  two  enclosures). 

1505.  On  the  condition  of  tbe  Prussian  States  (Enclosure  No.  1). 

306.  On  educational  affairs — Gymnasium  and  the  Freedom  of  the  Press 
in  Prussia  and  Germany  (Enclosure  No.  2). 

304.  I  have  the  honour  to  send  you,  my  dear 
Prince,  the  two  sketches  enclosed,  confident  as  I  liave 
long  been  of  your  patriotism. 

I  do  not  come  unbidden  to  plead  for  a  cause 
strange  to  me.  I  have  in  these  sketches  laid  down 
plainly  my  creed  as  the  head  of  the  Austrian  Cabinet. 
Our  intention  is  pure,  like  our  views  ;  we  do  not 
separate  our  fate  from  the  State  which  in  every  respect 
is  nearest  to  us.  The  moment  is  urgent.  What  to-day 
may  yet  be  possible  will  not  be  so  to-morrow,  and 
assistance  is  only  possible  as  long  as  free  power  is  in 
the  hands  of  the  King. 

I  beg  you,  my  dear  Prince,  carefully  to  consider 
both  these  documents.  I  have  divided  them  because 
they  belong  to  different  branches  of  the  administra- 
tion. 

The  first  (No.  305)  is  my  view  of  the  next  form  of 
administration  suitable  for  Prussia,  and  rests  on  one 
single  proposition : — 

The  central  representation  by  representatives  of 
the  people  is  the  disintegration  of  the  Prussian  States. 

It  is  so  because  such   a  reform   takes  place  in  no 


198  REFORMS  IN  PRUSSIA. 

great  State  witliout  leading  to  a  revolution  or  following 
upon  a  revolution  ;  because  in  the  Prussian  State,  from 
its  geographical  position  and  its  composition,  a  central 
representation  is  not  possible ;  because  this  State 
requires  before  everything  a  free  and  sound  military 
strength,  and  this  does  not  and  cannot  consist  with  a 
j)urely  representative  system. 

According  to  my  firm  conviction,  the  King  ought  to 
go  no  further  than  the  formation  of  provincial  Diets  in 
a  very  carefully  considered,  circumscribed  form.  If 
the  idea  of  a  central  representative  body,  chosen  from 
the  different  Diets,  is  referred  to  by  me,  this  is  because 
a  similar  idea  already  exists  in  the  Koyal  declaration, 
which  is  known  to  the  public  and  is  the  only  one 
possible.  Beyond  this  all  is  pure  revolution.  Will 
these  very  limited  ideas  not  also  lead  to  revolution  ? 
This  question  the  King  should  ponder  deeply  before  he 
decides. 

The  second  paper  (No.  306)  is  no  less  important  in 
its  object,  and  is  as  urgent  as  the  first  in  its  apph cation. 
It  needs  no  comment,  for  fact  speaks  daily  for  my 
proposition. 

I  have,  under  the  seal  of  secrecy,  imparted  these 
two  projects  to  the  Chancellor  of  State,  Prince  Harden- 
berg.  I  put  the  present  copies  into  your  hands,  my 
dear  Prince,  and  I  leave  it  to  your  judgment  whether 
you  will  submit  them  to  his  Majesty.  In  the  first 
audience  granted  me  by  his  Majesty  some  propositions 
were  received  with  such  free  and  outspoken  con- 
viction that  his  Majesty  made  me  wish  to  write  them 
down.  I  believe,  too,  that  I  fulfill  a  duty  to  my  own 
Fatherland  in  offering  our  true  and  impartial  opinion 
on  the  position  and  the  dangers  of  our  closest  allies. 
Receive,  my  dear  Prince,  this  proof  of  confidence,  &c.  &c 


EEFORMS   IN   PRUSSIA.  199 

On  the  Position  of  the  Prussian  States. 

305.  It  would  be  superfluous  to  enter  upon  a  con- 
sideration of  the  importance  of  tlie  existence  of  Prussia 
for  the  whole  of  the  European  State-system.  This 
springs  from  the  nature  of  things  ;  it  is  founded  on  the 
present  condition  of  Europe,  and  this  universal  admis- 
sion is  manifested  by  the  late  negotiations. 

But  for  Austria  the  existence  of  Prussia  has  a  special 
and  pecuHar  value. 

In  a  similar  position  with  respect  to  neighbouring 
States  ;  the  chief  members  of  a  Bund  Avhicli  has  the 
right  to  reckon  on  their  support,  and  the  duty  of  ren- 
dering the  same  support  to  them  in  return,  the  two 
States  can  never  separate  their  interests  without  danger 
and  difficulty  to  both.  They  must  together  prosper  or 
together  suffer ;  the  peace,  the  strength,  or  the  weak- 
ness of  the  one  will  always  react  for  good  or  evil  on 
the  other. 

The  strength  of  States  rests  on  two  fundamental 
conditions — their  political  and  their  administrative  con- 
formation. 

The  first  is  at  the  present  time  more  than  ever 
beyond  the  calculation,  as  bej^ond  the  will,  of  Govern- 
ments. The  Hmits  of  States  are  of  late  years  firmly 
and  inviolably  fixed  by  diplomatic  negotiations.  What 
might  be  improved  in  them  lies  consequently  beyond 
the  sphere  of  discussion.  Political  repose  rests  on 
fraternisation  between  monarchs,  and  on  the  principle 
of  maintaining  that  which  is.  To  oppose  these  funda- 
mental principles  would  be  to  shake  the  edifice  to  its 
very  foundations ;  the  consequences  of  such  an  under- 
taking must  certainly  be  to  any  State  more  productive 
of  danger  than  utility. 


200  REFOEMS   IN  PRUSSIA. 

But  the  form  of  administration  remains  in  tlie 
liands  of  the  Government  wherever  the  power  has  not 
been  given  away.  The  efforts  of  parties  are  constantly- 
directed  to  lead  Governments  astray  from  this  truth. 
The  revolutionists  always  calculate  on  the  paternal  feel- 
ing of  the  reigning  princes ;  wisdom,  however,  bids  the 
monarch,  above  all,  to  maintain  the  right,  to  protect 
his  people  from  theoretical  projects,  and  to  prove  and 
consider  everything,  and  make  choice  of  the  best. 

Wherever  the  limit  has  not  yet  been  overstepped — 
that  is  to  say,  wherever  the  monarch  can  still  act  inde- 
pendently— the  carrying  out  of  this  last  principle  is  quite 
possible,  and  this  holds  good  for  Prussia.  The  course 
now  chosen  by  the  King  will  decide  much  more  than 
the  fate  of  his  own  kingdom.  What  an  incalculable  in- 
fluence the  next  internal  organisation  of  the  Prussian 
States  must  have  on  Germany  and  Austria  is  self- 
evident.  This  is  felt  by  the  unelected  representatives 
of  the  so-called  voice  of  the  people.  The  party  has  so 
far  remained  true  and  consistent  in  its  course.  It  has 
sought  in  Prussia  the  support  for  its  lever,  and  perhaps 
has  found  it  only  too  readily.  The  moment  has  ar- 
rived for  the  King  to  give  his  verdict.  His  decision 
may  be  the  certain  triumph  of  the  revolution  over  the 
whole  of  Europe,  or  may  save  and  maintain  the  peace  of 
Prussia  and  the  world. 

What  will  the  King  do  ?  This  question  may,  per- 
haps, be  answered  in  a  few  sentences. 

The  main  condition  of  every  form,  its  utiHty  or  its 
worthlessness,  will  be  determined  by  a  true  knowledge 
of  the  body  to  which  it  is  to  be  applied. 

The  Prussian  States,  although  united  under  one 
sceptre,  consist  of  many  different  portions,  separated  by 
geographical  position,   climate,  race,    or  language.     It 


POSITION   OF  THE   PRUSSIAN   STATES.  201 

has  in  this  respect  much  similarity  with  the  Austrian, 
although  the  position  of  the  latter  is  in  every  way 
more  advantageous.  The  separate  parts  of  the  Austrian 
monarchy  are  more  solid ;  their  geographical  position  is 
better  ;  they  all  form  a  well-rounded  whole.  Of  the  two 
kino-doms  Austria  would  herself  be  more  suited  for  a 
pure  representative  system  than  Prussia,  if  the  differences 
of  her  populations  in  language  and  habits  were  not  too 
important.  How  can  that  which  is  impossible  to  be 
carried  out  in  Austria  succeed  in  Prussia  ? 

Under  existing  circumstances  in  tlie  two  monarchies 
the  certain  result  of  the  attempt  would  be  that  in  the 
desire  for  a  really  representative  central  system,  the 
kingdom  would  fall  into  separate  parts — parts  which 
have  not  then  to  be  made,  but  which  are  already  there 
as  parts,  and  show  more  substantial  differences  than 
even  Holland  or  the  Netherlands. 

The  success  of  the  central  representation  in  this 
kingdom  does  not  need  consideration  ;  the  introduction 
of  it  has  given  to  all  Europe  a  great  and  decisive  proof 
of  the  uselessness  of  such  a  scheme  in  a  whole  formed 
of  such  essentially  different  parts,  and  in  this  way  it  may 
have  done  some  good. 

In  another  respect  the  kingdom  of  the  Netherlands 
offers  a  second  experience  which  is  not  to  be  despised. 
This  kingdom  requires  above  all  for  its  maintenance  a 
strong  military  power,  and  this  very  important  condition 
of  its  existence  as  well  as  that  of  Prussia  is  enfeebled 
by  its  constitution,  as  would  be  the  case  in  Prussia  if  a 
central  representation  were  introduced.  This  has  been 
felt  by  the  civil  party  in  Prussia,  which  has  long  ago 
raised  its  voice  against  the  army,  and  proposed  a  sense- 
less system  of  a  mere  arming  of  the  people  in  the  place 
of  tlic  standing  army.     The  Prussian  State  would  ap- 


202  REFORMS   IN   PRUSSIA. 

proach  its  internal  dissolution  if  ever  the  King  of 
Prussia  sliould  appear,  not  at  the  head  of  an  army, 
but  as  the  leader  of  seven  or  eight  separate  masses 
of  men. 

Promises,  however,  have  been  made  on  the  part  ot 
the  Government ;  they  must  be  redeemed.  The  pressure 
of  the  people  is  to  obtain  some  guarantee  against  des- 
potism, especially  on  the  part  of  the  Germans,  from  a 
remembrance  of  former  times,  and  from  the  dreadful 
abuse  of  power  of  which  the  German  princes,  in  their 
arrogance,  have  been  guilty  since  the  year  1806.  This 
pressure  was  originally  for  the  restoration  of  government 
by  Diet,  until,  overpowered  by  the  voices  of  the  revolu- 
tionists, it  made  its  appearance  in  the  form  of  a  desire 
for  a  central  representative  system.  It  is  easy  to  imagine 
from  the  obscure  ideas  of  tlie  majority  as  to  the  real 
nature  of  popular  representation  to  what  delusion 
this  gives  rise  ;  and  if  the  national  mind  has  really 
clianiied,  it  becomes  all  the  more  incumbent  on  the 
monarch s  to  examine  everything,  and  to  resolve  only 
upon  what  is  truly  good. 

The  King  has  promised  a  purely  representative  sys- 
tem. He  will  accordingly  give  to  his  people  the  guaran- 
tees wdiich  alone  are  suitable  to  his  kingdom. 

The  Prussian  monarchy  may  be  divided  naturally 
into  several  divisions  : — 

1.  The  Marks  of  Brandenburg  ; 

2.  The  Kingdom  of  Prussia  ; 

3.  The  Grand  Duchy  of  Posen  ; 

4.  The  Duchy  of  Silesia ; 

5.  The  Duchy  of  Saxony  ; 

6.  The  Duchy  of  Westpliaha  ; 

7.  The  Grand  Duchy  of  the  Lower  Ehine. 

It  is  still  to  be  considered  to  what  divisions  Pome- 


POSITION   OF   THE   PRUSSIAN   STATES.  203 

rania,  Lower  Saxony,  and  Berg  will  be  joined.  They 
are  at  any  rate  not  fitted  to  form  single  States,  and  it  is 
probable  that  Pomerania  will  be  united  to  the  Marks, 
Lower  Saxony  to  the  Duchy  of  Saxony,  and  Berg  to 
Westphalia. 

Each  of  these  provinces  is  entitled  to  take  part  in  a 
representative  system  by  Diet,  but  these  Diets  are  by  no 
means  to  be  cast  in  exactly  the  same  forms  without 
regard  to  their  local  concerns,  which  are,  for  instance, 
in  the  Grand  Duchy  of  the  Lower  Rhine  very  dif- 
ferent from  others,  as  Silesia,  the  Marks,  &c.  &c.  By 
an  enlightened  regard  for  local  concerns,  the  surest 
foundation  will  be  laid  for  the  happiness  of  each  State 
in  itself  and  the  welfare  of  all  the  States  as  a  whole. 

Such  Diets  should  be  formed  before  anything  else  is 
done. 

If  ever  the  Budget  question  or  legislation  in  the 
highest  sense  should  make  a  central  representation  ad- 
vantageous to  the  State,  or  if  the  solution  of  this  ques- 
tion should  be  hereafter  unavoidable,  an  expedient 
might  be  found  by  choosing  not  less  than  three  mem- 
bers to  be  sent  from  each  Diet,  expressly  called  together 
for  that  purpose. 

This  central  body  would  at  least  be  more  easy  to 
guide  aright  than  a  combination  of  deputies  strange  or 
even  hostile  to  each  other,  who  would  never  be  brought 
to  agree  in  one  political  aim. 

The  following  main  points  will  suffice  to  show  briefly 
our  views  : — 

1.  The  Prussian  State  shall  continue  to  exist  in  the 
form  of  separate  provinces. 

The  executive  power  to  reside  in  the  King.  He  will 
have  ministers  at  the  head  of  the  different  departments, 
and  a  Council  of  State. 


204  EEFORMS  IN  PRUSSIA. 

Eacli  province  to  have  an  Upper  and  a  Lower  ad- 
ministrative board. 

2.  Each  province  to  be  represented  in  a  way  suitable 
to  its  local  relations. 

The  presidents  of  the  Diets  to  be  named  by  the  King. 

The  principal  features  of  the  action  of  the  Diets  will 
be  as  follows  : — 

In  their  assemblies,  legally  summoned,  they  shall 
have  the  risht  to  transmit  to  the  Government  all  re- 
quests  and  remonstrances  on  matters  concerning  the 
welfare  of  the  province,  the  Diet,  or  single  individuals. 

It  will  rest  with  them  to  distribute  the  taxes  accord- 
ing to  legal  principles,  to  watch  over  the  just  division  of 
the  public  burdens  in  the  provinces  and  prevent  all 
abuse  and  injustice  in  this  respect. 

3.  The  King  will  introduce  this  system  of  represen- 
tation and  reserve  to  himself  the  subsequent  decision  as 
to  the  co-operation  of  the  provincial  Diets  by  means  of 
a  central  representation  composed  from  them  for  the 
passing  of  the  Budget  and  higher  legislation. 

The  Government  must  be  careful,  before  the  in- 
troduction of  Diets,  to  arrange  the  provinces  in  their 
different  parts  and  regulate  their  administration,  and  a 
central  representation  can  only  be  the  result  of  such 
arrangements. 

4.  It  is  no  doubt  a  question  worthy  of  consideration, 
what  connection  there  might  be  between  a  Council  of 
State  in  the  extensive  form  of  the  Prussian  Council  and 
the  central  representation  as  chosen  from  the  different 
Diets,  and  whether  some  members  of  the  Council  of 
State,  as  such,  might  become  members  of  the  central 
representation. 


EDUCATION.  205 


On  Education,  Gymnastic  Establishments,  and  Liberty  of 

the  Press. 

(Supplement  to  No.  304.) 

306.  As  important  perhaps  for  the  decision  of  the 
Prussian  Government  are  the  questions  arising  from 
the  intrigues  of  the  various  peace-disturbing  parties  in 
Prussia  as  well  as  Germany. 

The  means  of  checking  the  growing  evil  are  two- 
fold. The  first  and  principal  the  King  will  find  in  his 
own  will ;  the  second,  in  the  closest  agreement  with 
Austria.  The  first  refers  to  the  Prussian  State  itself; 
the  second  to  a  common  course  to  be  followed  at  the 
Diet.  These  last  might  gain  in  safety  by  an  agreement 
between  the  two  chief  German  States,  and  confidential 
conferences  with  the  chief  Courts  before  they  can  with 
advantage  be  brought  before  the  Diet. 

The  subjects  which  we  think  necessary  to  point  out 
here  are  : — 

I.  The  question  of  Education. 

II.  The  establishments  for  Gymnastics. 

III.  The  Liberty  of  the  Press. 

I.  Education. 

No  impartial  observer  can  now  doubt  that  the  inno- 
vators in  Germany — and  most  of  them  are  found  among 
the  learned  caste — have  relinquished  the  hope  of 
actively  influencing  the  present  generation  with  their 
revolutionary  spirit,  and  still  more  of  moving  them  to 
action.  The  characteristic  features  of  the  Germans  will 
always  hinder  the  success  of  such  an  attempt.  The 
German  is  cold,  prudent,  and  faithful.     He   speculates 


206  REFORMS  IN  PRUSSIA. 

more  tlian  he  acts,  especially  when  the  action  involves 
a  rending  of  the  civil  and  domestic  ties.  The  patriotism 
of  the  Germans  has  various  aims  ;  there  are  in  the  com- 
mon fatherland  separate  voices  of  the  people  ;  provin- 
cial patriotism  is  the  nearest  to  the  German  citizen  :  he 
grasps  it  from  the  cradle,  and  thirty  generations  have 
shown  no  reason  why  it  should  not  be  honoured  as  the 
deepest  and  most  natural  feeling,  for  the  Branderburger 
and  the  Austrian,  the  Bavarian  and  the  Hessian,  are  all 
ahke  Germans.  The  political  formation  of  States  often 
operates  on  the  mind  of  the  people  for  centuries  longer 
than  the  institutions  themselves  exist ;  the  remembrance 
of  the  German  Empire,  too,  is  still  fresh  and  vivid, 
particularly  in  the  lower  classes.  Even  if  there  is  no 
more  an  Empire,  there  is  still  a  Germany,  and  the 
nucleus  of  ancient  j^rovinces  under  ancient  Princes. 

Conscious  of  the  futility  of  the  undertaking,  the  plan 
of  the  innovators — for  they  act  on  a  settled  plan — has 
taken  quite  a  different  character,  a  character  which 
suits  itself  to  the  feeling  and  personal  relations  of  the 
leaders :  that  which  the  present  generation  cannot  per- 
form is  reserved  for  the  next,  and  in  order  that  the 
next  generation  may  not  follow  the  footsteps  of  its  pre- 
decessors, the  youth  must  be  seized  as  he  leaves  boyhood, 
and  he  must  undergo  a  revolutionary  training. 

Where  the  revolution  in  its  coarsest  form  cannot 
pervert  and  incite  to  insurrection  the  already  educated, 
a  people  shall  be  educated  for  revolution. 

This  plan  is  followed  at  some  of  the  German  univer- 
sities, and  if  we  have  not  the  necessary  information  to 
enable  us  to  judge  exactly  how  far  many  professors  at 
the  Prussian  universities  join  in  it,  we  believe  we  are  not 
wrong  in  considering  it  more  than  probable  that  they 
do  so.  V 


LIBERTY   OF   THE   PRESS.  207 

The  Eoyal  Prussian  Government  is  well  aware  of  the 
signification  of  the  German  Burschen^chaft^  and  that  the 
mischief  cannot  be  too  soon  checked  is  beyond  a  doubt. 
But  that  this  can  only  be  accomplished  by  tlie  united 
action  of  the  German  Governments  is  just  as  certain. 

II.  Gymnastic  Establishments. 

The  mischief  here  is  closely  connected  with  life  at 
the  universities:  the  inventors,  the  invention,  and  the 
execution  belong  to  Prussia. 

The  gymnastic  establishment  is  a  real  preparatory 
school  of  university  disorders.  There  the  boy  is  formed 
into  the  youth,  as  in  the  higher  school — the  university — 
the  youth  is  formed  into  the  man. 

We  here  declare  our  firm  conviction  that  it  has  be- 
come a  duty  of  State  for  the  King  thoroughly  and  en- 
tirely to  destroy  tliis  evil.  Palliative  measures  are  no 
longer  sufficient.  Tlie  whole  institution  in  every  shape 
must  be  closed  and  done  away  witli,  offenders  being- 
made  liable  to  legal  censure. 

As  the  institution  was  founded  and  still  exists  in 
Berlin  itself,  and  as  the  branch  institutions  seem  all  to 
depend  on  and  spring  from  the  mother  institution,  the 
evil  must  there  be  uprooted.  If  offshoots  continue  to 
exist,  this  will  be  a  fit  subject  for  consultation  with  those 
German  Governments  which  may  not  be  clearsigiited 
enough,  and  may  further  encourage  the  evil. 

III.  Liberty  of  the  Press. 

Tliis  point,  the  most  difficult  of  all,  can  only  be  re- 
gulated by  a  close  agreement  between  Austria  and 
Prussia,  and  by  this  means  with  the  other  German 
Governments — if,  indeed,  it  possibly  can  be  regulated. 


208  EEFOEMS   IN   PRUSSIA. 

Every  measure  must  be  grounded  on  the  following 
principles : — 

1.  The  broadest  views  as  to  real  substantial  works  ; 

2.  The  most  decided  difference  between  such  works 
and  pamphlets  and  journals  ; 

3.  Respect  for  the  independence  of  the  single  States 
forming  the  Bund,  and  the  certainty  that  no  State  may 
remain  in  the  Bund  which  does  not  possess  some  efficient 
law  on  this  subject,  whether  it  be  preventive  or  repres- 
sive. 


209 


ON  TEE  QUESTION  OF  THE  JEWS* 

307.  The  Edict  of  the  Emperor  Joseph  is  in  full 
force  in  all  the  German  States  of  Austria.  The  Hun- 
garian Constitution  is  opposed  to  one  j)art  of  its  execu- 
tion, but  this  fact  is  independent  of  the  wishes  of  the 
King. 

Schools  for  Jewish  girls  exist  everywhere.  Where 
the  community  is  not  large,  the  children  of  both  sexes 
frequent  the  Christian  schools ;  every  Jew  is  at  hberty 
to  educate  his  children  in  Christian  educational  estab- 
lishments. 

Jews  can,  under  certain  restrictions,  and  in  countries 
where  the  constitutions  do  not  directly  oppose  it,  be- 
come landed  proprietors. 

They  are  subject  to  the  military  conscription,  hke 
the  Christians.  All  grades  of  the  service  are  open  to 
them :  there  are  staff-officers  at  this  day  who  are  Jews. 

Distinctions  of  every  kind — except  those  which  re- 
quire the  formula  of  a  Christian  oath,  such  as  the  orders 
of  knighthood — are  given  to  them.  Men  remarkable  for 
their  civil  virtues  and  honourable  estate  have  acquired 
titles  of  nobility,  which  place  them  in  the  same  rank  as 
Christian  noblemen. 

*  The  occasion  of  this  judgment  seems  to  have  teen  the  appearance  of  a 
'  Memoire  sur  I'etat  des  Israelites,  par  un  Ministre  du  Saint  Evaugile/  which 
was  dedicated  and  presented  to  the  monarchs  assembled  at  the  Congress  of 
Aix-hx-Chapelle.  Besides  which,  the  representatives  of  the  Jews  in  Vienna 
presented  a  petition  to  their  Majesties,  imploring  an  inquiry  to  be  made  into 
the  state  of  the  law  in  respect  to  the  civic  rights  of  members  of  the  Israelitish 
faith.— Ed. 

VOL.  III.  P 


210  THE  JEWS. 

They  may  adopt  any  profession  they  hke  ;  if  there 
are  very  few  in  the  Civil  Service,  it  is  because  they  do 
not  choose  that  career,  or,  rather,  that  those  who  do 
aspire  to  it  enter  the  bosom  of  the  Church. 

Nevertheless,  in  many  places  it  has  been  necessary 
to  take  measures  of  precaution  in  carrying  out  the 
edict  of  the  Emperor  Joseph,  even  after  it  has  been  in 
force  many  years,  because  of  the  abuse  by  Jews  of  the 
concessions  granted  them.  Devoted  to  business,  from 
father  to  son,  assisting  each  other  with  large  capitals, 
they  prefer  to  gain  by  either  lawful  or  unlawful  trade 
what  would  cost  both  care  and  trouble  to  attain  by 
other  means. 

The  laws  of  the  Emperor  Joseph  have,  however, 
been  of  real  benefit;  the  most  satisfactory  example  that 
could  be  cited  in  support  of  this  truth  is  the  difference 
between  the  Jews  of  Galicia  and  those  of  ancient  Poland. 

One  of  the  great  difficulties  in  devising  any  measure 
relating  to  the  position  of  the  Jews  arises  from  their 
number.  Any  hasty  reform  bears  heavily  on  an 
immense  mass  of  men  whom  nothing  can  persuade  to 
renounce  old  customs  or  adopt  new  ones. 


211 


1819. 

ROME,  NAPLES,  AND  PERUGIA. 

Extracts   from    Metternich's   private  Letters,  from    March  5  to 
June  22,  1819. 

308.  The  journey  postponed.  309.  From  Friesach.  310.  From  Florence- 
reception  of  the  Emperor.  311.  Grand  banquet  in  honour  of  the  Emperor. 
312.  Arrival  at  Rome — description  of  the  city — audience  by  the  Pope — 
St.  Peter's — the  Vatican — Palm  Sunday' — the  Coliseum.  313.  Good 
Friday  at  St.  Peter's — the  blessing  Orhi  et  Urhi — death  of  Kotzebue. 
314.  End  of  the  festival — illumination  of  the  Cupola.  315.  Arrival  at 
Naples.  316.  Pozzuoli  and  Baja — the  miracle  of  St.  Januarius.  317. 
Visit  to  Pompei.  318.  The  Grotto  of  the  Sibyl.  319.  Ascent  of  Mount 
Vesuvius.  320.  Excursion  to  Salerno  and  Psestum.  321.  The  Emperor 
on  Mount  Vesuvius.  322.  Postponement  of  the  Emperor's  journey — the 
plan  for  Metternich's  journey — Tivoli — Lawrence  in  Rome.  323.  The 
procession  of  Corpus  Christi.  324.  From  Perugia  —  the  portrait  of 
Clementine  by  Lawrence — Metternich's  bust  by  Thorwaldsen.  325.  De- 
scription of  Perugia.     326.  Cardinal  Consalvi. 

Metternich  to  his  Wife,  Vienna,  March  5,  1819. 

308.  Very  much  against  my  will,  my  dear,  I  have 
been  obliged  to  put  off  my  journey  till  the  8th.  I  have 
yielded  to  Staudenheim's  orders,  and  he  has  found  a 
powerful  ally  in  the  worst  weather  that  heaven  ever 
sent  to  any  part  of  this  lower  world.  The  thermometer 
is  constantly  at  one,  two,  or  three  degrees  above  zero. 
It  rains,  there  is  a  thick  fog ;  sometimes  a  few  flakes 
of  snow  come  to  enliven  us ;  the  men  cough,  the  women 
sniff,  the  children  squall.  Here  in  three  sentences,  I 
give  you  a  picture  of  society  in  Vienna,  and  its 
charms. 

This  is  the  plan  for  my  journey.     I  intend  to  sleep 

P  2 


212     EXTRACTS   FROM  METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

on  the  8tli,  at  Schottwien  ;  tlie  9th,  at  Leoben ;  the 
10th,  at  Klagenfurt ;  the  11th,  at  Ponteba  ;  the  12th, 
at  Coneghano ;  the  13th,  at  Verona ;  the  14th,  at 
Modena ;  the  15th,  at  Scarica  I'Asino ;  the  16th,  at 
Florence. 

309.  Friesach,  March  10. — Thanks  to  the  despair- 
ing anticipations  of  Floret,  who  always  thinks  it  is  im- 
possible to  reach  any  place,  I  have  arrived  here  in  such 
good  time,  my  dear,  that  I  am  able  to  write  to  you.  I 
shall  send  my  letter  by  post  to  Klagenfurt,  so  as  to 
ensure  your  getting  it  safely.  I  left  Kraupach  at  seven 
this  morning,  the  most  wretched  hole  on  earth ;  I  dined 
at  Unzmarkt,  and  here  I  am  at  Friesach  at  seven  in  the 
evening.  I  found  a  good  deal  of  snow  between  Krau- 
pach and  Neumarkt,  where  the  level  is  high,  but  it 
disappeared  as  we  descended  towards  Carinthia.  I 
shall  find  it  again  in  the  Julian  Alps.  To-morrow  I 
shall  sleep  at  Tarvis. 

You  see,  my  dear,  that  the  journey  is  going  on  very 
well.  Everybody  is  in  good  health,  and  Kaunitz  is  just 
the  same  as  in  1799.  He  does  not  speak  of  his  griev- 
ances :  it  seems  as  if  he  had  none  ;  he  eats,  sings, 
whistles,  laughs,  and  sleeps,  hke  everybody  else,  and 
carries  it  so  far  that  I  beheve  he  is  only  restive,  like 
some  horses,  which  are  very  gentle  and  quiet  for 
months  together,  and  begin  to  rear  and  kick  at  certain 
times  and  in  certain  places. 

In  the  course  of  my  travels  I  have  made  a  discovery 
in  natural  history.  The  magistrate  of  Judenburg  was 
waiting  at  the  door  to  compliment  me.  All  magis- 
trates everywhere  are  constantly  complaining ;  he  of 
Judenburg  had  no  complaint  to  make  of  men,  so  he  fell 
back  on  jiiice.  The  burgomaster  having  assured  me 
that  the  mice  had  ravaged  the  fields,  I  asked  him  if  this 


TRAVELLING   IN   1819.  213 

plague  had  existed  for  a  long  time.  "  My  God,  yes — 
ever  since  the  French  came  !  "  "  What !  did  the  French 
bring  mice  in  their  train  ?  "  "  No,  but  those  devils  of 
men  encamped  near  the  town ;  they  eat  so  much  bread 
that  they  filled  the  fields  with  crumbs,  and  we  have  had 
all  the  mice  of  Styria  since."     Hate  is  blind  ! 

310.  Florence^  Mar^ch  18. — I  write  to  you  at  last, 
my  dear,  after  having  waited  from  hour  to  hour  for  the 
possibility  of  sending  this  off*.  I  have  had  the  quickest 
and  the  best  journey  possible.  Once  on  Italian  soil,  it 
was  so  much  accelerated  that  I  was  obliged  to  increase 
the  number  of  my  stations.  I  slept  at  Tarvis  on  the 
11th,  at  Conegliano  on  the  12th,  at  Verona  on  the  13th, 
at  Bologna  on  the  14th,  and  arrived  here  on  the  15th, 
in  nine  hours,  a  thing  without  example.  The  Emperor 
made  the  journey  in  ten  hours,  and  it  was  said  to  be  a 
miracle ;  I  made  it  in  one  hour  less,  and  the  miracle 
was  one  no  longer.  Where  ordinary  travellers  ascend 
the  high  mountains  of  the  Apennines  in  carriages  drawn 
by  oxen,  I  went  at  a  quick  trot  with  eight  horses.  The 
animals  in  this  country  must  have  limgs  made  differ- 
ently from  those  of  our  ultramontane  cattle.  I  have 
had  nothing  to  complain  of  on  the  way,  except  an  excess 
of  attention.  At  Bologna,  the  Cardinal-Legate  waited 
upon  me  with  invitations  from  two  societies,  and  to  two 
suppers — one  at  his  own  house,  and  the  other  at  Mare- 
scalchi's,  where  I  lodged.  In  my  difficulty  of  choice  I 
went  to  bed,  and  left  the  two  parties  to  arrange  the 
suppers  as  they  liked,  after  having  fraternised  with  his 
Eminence  for  nearly  two  hours  '  in  camera  caritatis.' 

.  .  .  .  We  are  here  in  the  midst  of  flowers  ;  the 
houses  are  still  cold,  but  there  are  good  chimneys,  and 
even  stoves  in  all  the  rooms. 

The  Emperor  has  been  received  with  real  enthusiasm 


214     EXTRACTS  FROM   METTERNICR-S  PRIVATE    LETTERS. 

by  the  Tuscans.  He  is  marvellously  well.  Venice  gave 
him  a  cold  in  the  head  ;  I  was  right  enough  to  avoid 
that  charming  resting-place. 

Florence  is  still  full  of  English  ;  they  are  beginning 
to  move  towards  Eome.  The  Emperor  leaves  on  the 
29th  of  this  month.  I  intend  to  start  with  Marie  on 
the  26th.  We  shall  go  that  day  to  Leghorn,  on  the 
27th  to  Pisa,  the  28th  to  Sienna,  the  29th  to  Eadicofani, 
the  30th  to  Viterbo,  and  we  shall  be  at  Eome  on 
the  31st. 

I  am  lodging  here  at  the  Palace  Dragomanni.  The 
mistress  of  the  house  is  a  widow,  and  is  that  wild 
dancer  of  the  Furlana  whom  you  have  seen  at  Madame 
Elisa's  balls  in  1810  at  Paris.  She  is  nine  years  older, 
and  dances  no  longer,  but  my  virtue  is  as  safe  as  if  she 
still  danced  with  her  old  impetuosity.  I  liave  never 
liked  paroxysms  or  hurricanes.  The  windows  of  my 
bedroom  look  on  a  garden  where  everything  is  in 
flower.  Just  beneath  me  there  are  orange  trees  in  the 
open  air,  covered  with  fruit,  and  the  flowers  just  peep- 
ing out.  I  am  astonished,  for,  after  all,  the  heat  is  not 
great ;  the  sun  is  everything  here,  and  the  sun  of 
Tuscany  is  quite  a  different  thing  from  the  sun  beyond 
the  Alps. 

311.  March  22.— The  town  gave  a  fete  to  the 
Emperor  yesterday.  The  fete  was  beautiful,  simply 
owing  to  the  locality  ;  it  was  held  in  front  of  the  Pa- 
lazzo Vecchio.  The  people  assembled  in  the  old  palace 
inhabited  by  the  Medici  before  they  acquired  the  Pitti 
Palace.  Everything  there  breathes  of  their  presence, 
though  it  is  three  hundred  years  since  they  left  it.  The 
Uffizii  galleries  were  illuminated.  There  was  a  coloured 
fire,  which  did  not  add  much  to  the  beauty  of  the 
illumination.     What  I  liked  best  of  all  was  to  see  the 


ROME.  215 

beautiful  statues  of  Micliel  Angelo,  Benvenuto  Cellini, 
&c.,  tlie  chefs- d'mivres  of  architecture  of  that  epoch, 
briUiantly  illuminated,  which,  in  fact,  enables  me  to  say 
that  I  have  seen  it  all  as  the  creators  themselves  saw  it. 
Cararaan  raves  about  Florence  ;  he  declares  that  to  be 
there  is  like  being  in  an  enchanted  palace  ;  and  he  is  not 
far  wro^ig.  Nothing  that  one  sees  there  is  like  anything 
one  sees  elsewhere. 

I  shall  leave  on  the  26th,  and  will  follow  strictly 
the  route  1  indicated  in  my  last  letter. 

312.  Rome,  April  2. — Here  we  are,  my  dear.  I 
shall  not  undertake  to  tell  you  what  we  find  in  Rome ; 
I  leave  that  to  Marie.  Do  not  think,  however,  that  she 
is  exaggerating,  for  that  is  simply  impossible.  Imagina- 
tion attains  to  what  has  been  presented  by  the  senses — • 
in  vain  we  delude  ourselves  :  that  circle  is  never  left. 
Eome  must  be  seen  to  be  believed  in.  All  that  the 
most  beautiful  cities  in  the  world  can  show  of  magnifi- 
cence in  detail  is  gatliered  together  here,  and  certainly 
surpassed. 

Eome  has  been  to  me  like  a  person  I  tried  to 
imagine  witliout  having  seen  ;  such  calculations  are 
always  deceptive.  I  have  found  everything  different 
from  what  I  supposed ;  I  expected  Rome  would  be 
old  and  sombre— it  is  antique  and  superb,  brilliant 
and  new.  I  do  not  know  what  I  would  give  to  take 
you  for  a  single  instant  to  the  window  of  my  drawing- 
room  ;  and  this  window  is  nothing  compared  to  one  in 
a  dressing-room  which  is  prepared  for  the  Empress ! 
Picture  to  yourself  the  most  splendid  view,  so  rich  that 
one  would  accuse  of  excessive  exaggeration  the  painter 
of  such  a  scene.  Opposite  and  beneath  me  I  have 
St.  Peter's,'  the  Castle  of  St.  Angelo,  the  Column  of 
Antoninus,  innumerable  obehsks  and  palaces,  each  one 


216     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE  LETTERS. 

more  magnificent  than  the  other ;  fountains  throwing 
up  an  enormous  vohime  of  water  ;  to  the  left,  the 
Cohseum,  St.  John  Lateran ;  opposite,  the  Vatican,  &c., 
&c.  These,  indeed,  are  a  number  ©f  names,  but  they 
give  no  idea  of  the  objects,  St,  Peter's  and  the  Vatican 
together  are  as  large  as  the  city  of  Tu'rin,  which  con- 
tains sixty  thousand  souls.  Tlie  square  of  St.  Peter's 
alone  would  contain  two  hundred  thousand.  The  only 
thing  which  could  give  any  idea  of  these  spaces  are  the 
Tuileries,  the  Square  of  Louis  XV,,  and  the  Champs 
Elysees,  The  garde-meuhles  are,  taken  separately,  only 
miserable  hovels  compared  to  twenty  private  houses 
which  count  for  nothing  in  Eome,  The  Parnese  Palace 
is  one  of  the  largest  and  most  lofty — well,  the  high-altar 
of  St.  Peter's  is  six  feet  higher  than  the  palace,  and  it  is 
in  bronze. 

We  arrived  here  the  day  before  yesterday,  before 
nightfall.  The  cupola  of  St,  Peter's  may  be  discerned 
a  little  this  side  of  the  last  posting-stage.  The  country 
is  nothing  but  a  desert.  The  soil,  the  best  in  the  world, 
requires  only  hands  to  cultivate  it.  At  last,  after  the 
most  disagreeable  journey,  one  arrives  among  ruins,  with 
numbers  of  posts  here  and  there,  on  which  hang  the 
bodies,  old  and  new,  of  brigands  who  have  committed 
murder  on  this  very  spot.  It  is  more  like  the  gates  of 
Tartarus  than  those  of  the  Holy  City.  But,  once  free 
from  all  this,  the  grandeur  of  Eome  becomes  over- 
whelming. 

Arrived  at  the  Consulta,  where  I  live,  and  where 
Cardinal  Consalvi  waited  upon  me  with  a  crowd  of  men 
whom  he  had  provided  for  my  estabhshment,  I  was 
hterally  terrified  at  first  at  the  sight  of  my  apartments. 
They  consist  of  twenty-five  magnificent  rooms.  Marie 
has  at  least  half  that  number  for  herself,    I  began  yester- 


INTERVIEW   WITH   THE   POPE.  217 

day  by  going  to  see  the  Pope,  whom  I  found  in  very 
good  health,  much  better  than  I  had  expected.  He  is 
infirm,  but  with  an  infirmity  quite  natural  to  such  an 
advanced  age  as  his.  He  let  me  know,  through  the 
Cardinal,  that  he  will  see  me  whenever  I  like. 

I  sallied  forth,  therefore,  first  of  all  to  pay  my 
respects  to  him.  He  received  me  as  he  would  an  old 
friend  ;  he  spoke  to  me  of  our  correspondence  while  he 
was  a  prisoner  at  Savon  a.  He  came  forward  to  meet 
me,  had  a  stool  placed  beside  him  for  me,  and  we  con- 
versed for  an  hour.  Pepi  and  my  gentlemen  were  wait- 
ing in  the  antechamber.  I  begged  for  permission  to 
present  them  to  him  ;  he  walked  to  the  other  end  of  the 
room  to  ring  for  them  to  be  shown  in.  I  presented 
them  ;  he  said  a  few  words  to  them,  and  ended  by  con- 
ducting me,  on  leaving,  as  far  as  the  first  room.  I  defy 
even  those  who  are  too  attentive  to  do  more.  He  con- 
verses very  well,  with  great  facihty  and  much  hveliness. 
During  an  hour  of  conversation,  on  everything  in  the 
world,  he  laughed  for  a  good  quarter  of  an  hour.  Cer- 
tainly no  interview  between  Pope  and  minister,  meeting 
for  the  first  time,  could  have  been  more  kindly.  He 
likes  to  speak  of  his  troubles  under  Bonaparte,  and  he 
reminded  me  of  more  than  twenty  anecdotes  of  my 
conversations  with  the  latter  on  his  account.  He  told 
me  to  come  and  see  him,  how  and  when  I  hke. 

The  apartments  destined  for  his  Majesty  are  of  ravish- 
ing beauty.  Besides  the  magnificence  of  the  locality, 
the  greater  part  of  the  furniture  was  made  under  Napo- 
leon, who  had  intended  the  Quirinal  for  his  own  palace. 
The  Pope  has  had  everything  finished,  so  that  in  these 
apartments  may  be  found  all  that  is  beautiful  in  ancient 
and  modern  art.  When  the  Louvre  is  finished  it  will 
not  bear  comparison  with  the  Quirinal.     The  first  ante- 


218     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICIl'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

chamber — a  room  as  large  as  the  Eedoiite  at  Vienna — 
is  common  to  the  Pope  and  the  Emperor.  It  is  used  as 
a  peristyle  to  tlie  chapel,  which  is  prepared  for  some  of 
the  functions  of  Holy  Week.  This  chapel  holds  five 
hundred  ;  three  thousand  have  applied  for  admission. 
There  are  more  than  forty  thousand  foreigners  in  Eome, 
countinfT  both  masters  and  valets. 

The  apartments  of  the  Pope  contrast  singularly  with 
the  magnificence  which  surrounds  them ;  they  are  more 
than  simple. 

From  the  Quirinal  we  went  to  St.  Peter's ;  from  St. 
Peter's  to  the  Vatican.     What  say  you  to  this  life  ? 

It  is  a  fact  that  St.  Peter's  seems  small,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  harmony  of  all  its  parts.  It  is  only  when 
one  examines,  when  one  measures,  that  one  begins  to 
doubt  the  evidence  of  the  eyes.  The  marble  angels 
which  support  the  basins  for  holy  water  are  placed 
on  the  two  first  pilasters  beyond  the  entrance.  You 
think  them  quite  near ;  they  seem  to  be  about  the 
height  of  Leontine :  as  you  approach  them  they  in- 
crease till  they  become  colossal.  The  four  pillars  on 
which  the  cupola  rests,  which  is  six  feet  more  in 
diameter  than  the  Pantheon,  seem  merely  of  ordinary 
dimensions.  Well,  the  thickness  on  the  narrow  side  is 
thirty-two  paces.  Picture  to  yourself  this  church, 
which  has  twenty  chapels,  each  of  which  would  make 
an  enormous  church,  and  each  of  which  has  a  cupola 
higher  and  lai^ger  than  that  of  St.  Charles  Borromeo, 
all  inlaid  with  marble,  all  the  ceilings  in  mosaic, 
representing  magnificent  pictures.  There  is  not  an 
ornament  which  is  not  either  in  marble,  porphyry, 
antique  alabaster,  or  gilt  bronze ;  not  a  corner  which 
is  not  as  completely  finished  as  a  snuff-box  ;  gigantic 
monuments  everywhere,  executed  by  the  first  masters 


ROME.  219 

of  all  times  ;  such  magnificence  of  every  kind  was  never 
gatliered  together  in  ancient  times. 

St.  Peter's  as  a  church  is  the  chapel  of  the  Vatican. 
You  remember  the  gallery  of  the  Louvre.  Put  twenty 
like  that  one  after  another,  and  you  would  hardly  have 
the  space  which  is  filled  with  statues,  marbles,  monu- 
ments of  every  kind  !  Nevertheless,  in  November  next 
they  will  open  a  new  wing  with  halls  and  galleries, 
which  they  will  fill  with  statues  that  are  now  in  ware- 
houses. Besides  all  these  halls  and  galleries,  there  are 
also  eleven  thousand  rooms  and  closets,  all  habitable, 
in  this  same  house. 

What  galleries  are  those  painted  in  fresco  by 
Eaphael  I  This  marvellous  man  painted  one — perhaps 
the  most  beautiful — at  the  age  of  eighteen. 

We  walked  straight  on,  we  did  not  stop  at  all — 
looked  about  us  very  little,  and  yet  we  walked  for  five 
hours. 

Our  days  are  arranged.  We  shall  go  out  every 
day  from  eight  till  mid-day,  and  from  four  to  six.  It 
is  too  hot  between  mid-day  and  four  o'clock.  To-day 
it  has  been  warmer  than  it  generally  is  with  us  in  the 
month  of  June. 

April  3. — Yesterday  morning  we  went  to  see  the 
Forum  of  Trajan,  a  magnificent  ancient  ruin. 

Then  we  visited  the  studios  of  Canova  and  Thor- 
waldsen,  two  very  remarkable  artists.  Wliat  Canova 
has  done  already,  and  what  he  is  at  present  doing,  is 
inconceivable.  This  man  reminds  one  of  the  best  days 
of  Greece. 

The  Emperor  arrived  at  half-past  four.  We  waited 
upon  him  in  his  own  apartment.  On  arriving  he  went 
first  to  see  his  Holiness,  who  came  to  meet  him  as  far 
as  his  own  legs  would   carry  him.     The  Emperor  has 


220     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRFV^ATE   LETTERS. 

been  received  with  much  pomp  and  great  enthusiasm 
by  the  people.  The  whole  population  of  Eome  turned 
out  to  meet  him. 

April  4. — I  close  my  letter  just  as  I  am  starting  for 
the  Quirinal,  for  the  Feast  of  Palms.  The  ceremony 
will  last  three  hours  :  I  shall  be  consequently  too  late 
to  write  to  you  on  my  return,  as  the  courier  must  start 
so  as  to  arrive  in  Munich  in  time  to  meet  the  one  who 
goes  from  Vienna  to  Paris. 

Marie  has  doubtless  told  you  of  our  walks  yester- 
day morning.  We  passed  four  hours  in  the  Eome  of 
the  Csesars,  in  the  midst  of  the  most  magnificent  ruins 
of  edifices  the  most  sublime  and  the  most  gigantic  that 
human  genius  ever  created.  The  Forum  Romanum  is 
a  town  of  temples  and  monuments.  The  excavations 
made  by  the  French  and  continued  by  the  Pope  allow 
one  to  walk  once  more  on  the  pavement  of  the  Via 
Sacra,  along  which  all  the  triumphal  processions  wended 
their  way. 

A  mass — partly  upright,  partly  lying  confusedly  on 
the  earth — of  trunks  of  gigantic  columns  of  porphyry, 
and  the  most  beautiful  marbles  and  granites  from  the 
East,  of  capitals  and  other  debris,  shows  what  this 
place  must  have  been.  Imagination  alone  cannot  rea- 
lise it.  The  Pope,  who  does  an  immense  deal  for  art 
(or  rather  Consalvi  does  it  in  his  name),  intends  to 
excavate  the  whole  of  the  Forum.  It  is  a  great  under- 
taking, for  the  old  pavement  is  covered  by  from  fifteen 
to  twenty  feet  of  earth  and  .ruins,  and  the  great  diffi- 
culty is  to  know  where  to  throw  the  earth  from  the 
excavations. 

The  Coliseum  cannot  be  described.  Its  ruins  do 
not  resemble  those  of  a  building :  they  look  more  like 
those  of  a  mountain.     According  to  the  most  moderate 


RELIGIOUS   CEREMONIES   AT   ROME.  221 

calculations,  eighty  thousand  spectators  could  have  been 
seated  there  with  ease.  Each  place  still  bears  its 
number,  Hke  the  stalls  in  the  Court  Theatre  at  Vienna, 
which,  however,  has  only  this  one  resemblance  to  that 
of  the  Eome  of  the  Csesars. 

313.  Rome,    April  10. — We  hve   in    the  midst  of 
Pagan  temples  and  in  Christian  basilicas  ;  the  last  three 
days  we  have   alternated  between  the  Sixtine  Chapel, 
the  Museums  of  the  Vatican,  and  the  Church  of  St. 
Peter's.    The  last  of  the  grand  religious  ceremonies  will 
take  place  to-morrow ;  the  place  alone  would  make  it 
very  beautiful,    for  it   is   to  be   at   St.  Peter's.      The 
functions   on  Holy  Thursday  and  Good  Friday  were 
beneath   my   expectations.     For   one   thing,  the  Holy 
Father  did  not  officiate,  so  the  High  Mass  was  reduced 
to  the  ordinary  service  ;  besides,  there  is  no  doubt  that 
what  I  have  seen  at  the  Sixtine  Chapel  was  not  equal 
to  the  ceremonies  which   formerly  took  place  at  the 
Electoral   ecclesiastical    Courts ;    and    the   washing    of 
feet  and  the  repast  of  the  Apostles  are  infinitely  more 
imposing  at  Vienna.     The  ceremonies  here  take  place 
in  halls  and  chapels  much   too  small,  although  in  the 
largest  palace  in  the  world.     These  places  are  encum- 
bered with  strangers  :  for  one  Cathohc  you  see  eight  or 
ten  Protestants,  for  the  most  part  Enghsh.     The  guards 
are    obliged    to    use    tlieir    halberds :     the    Pope,    the 
Apostles,  the   sovereigns — all  is  confusion.     On   Holy 
Thursday  they   pass  from  the  Sixtine    Chapel    to   the 
Pauline   Chapel :   from  thence  to  the    hall   where  the 
Apostles   dine.      There   is  a  fight   at  each    door,  and 
generally    blood    flows.      Yesterday,   for    example,    an 
English  lady,  fancying  herself  stronger  than  a  guard, 
had  her  cheek  pierced  by  a  halberd.    One  hears  nothing 
but     cries    of    '  My   shoe  ! '     '  My   veil ! '     '  You    are 


222     EXTEACTS  FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

crushing  me  ! '  '  Your  sword  is  running  into  my  leg  ! ' 
*  Give  way,  please  ! '  and  then  '  knocks  and  blows  '  in 
abundance.  The  noise  ceases,  and  the  ceremony  is 
over.  Last  year  an  Englishman,  determined  to  pass 
between  two  guards  who  were  in  line,  forming  a 
passage  for  the  Pope,  had  his  nose  taken  off  between 
the  shoulders  of  the  two  guards  (they  wear  cuirasses  on 
Holy  Thursday).  You  may  imagine  that  the  holiness 
of  the  place  and  the  unction  of  the  service  gain  nothing 
by  these  occurrences. 

In  my  opinion  the  effect  of  the  illuminated  cross  in 
St.  Peter's  surpasses  all  description.  This  immense 
basilica,  enveloped  in  darkness,  is  lighted  from  a  single 
focus  ;  the  cross,  about  fifty  feet  in  height,  so  suspended 
as  to  have  the  appearance  of  sustaining  itself,  is  wonder- 
fully beautiful. 

The  effects  of  hght  in  the  side  chapels  are  marvel- 
lous ;  the  tombs  seem  to  be  reanimated.  On  one  of 
the  pillars  Pope  Gregory  XIII.  seems  to  be  coming  out 
of  his  niche.  The  magnificent  lion  on  the  tomb  of 
Clement  XIV.,  by  Canova,  has  the  appearance  ot 
springing  to  defend  the  approach  to  the  tomb.  Seen 
from  the  end  of  the  church,  the  cross  is  framed  by  the 
four  columns  of  the  high  altar ;  each  step  presents  a 
new  and  magical  effect.  Picture  to  yourself  all  this 
space  illumined  by  a  single  ray  of  light,  this  light  losing 
itself  in  the  vast  space,  and  only  reflected  by  the 
ceihngs  in  gilding  and  mosaic  ;  this  is  the  time  to  judge 
of  the  immensity  of  the  edifice.  The  door  is  opened  in 
the  middle  of  the  church,  and  thus  the  cross  is  seen 
from  the  other  side  of  the  Piazza  of  St.  Peter's.  At  that 
distance  it  seems  about  the  size  of  a  bishop's  cross. 
The  Piazza  is  dark,  and  the  cross  is  the  only  hght 
visible.  '      ; 


RELIGIOUS   CEREMONIES   AT   ROME.  223 

The  Pope's  benediction  has  also  a  striking  effect. 
The  moment  when  the  Holy  Father,  carried  in  a  chair, 
appears  at  the  window  in  the  front  of  the  church,  and 
rises  to  bless  the  people,  all  the  people  falling  on  their 
knees,  is  most  solemn.  But  it  seems  as  if  bad  luck 
attended  all  the  religious  ceremonies  at  Eome.  After 
the  benediction  the  Holy  Father  sits  down  ;  he  remains 
at  the  window  ;  a  cardinal  advances  and  throws  to  the 
people  indulgences  written  on  sheets  of  paper.  All  the 
ragamuffins  assemble,  struggling  and  lighting  to  get 
one  of  these  papers.  There  are  shouts  and  laughter, 
as  when  one  throws  money  in  the  street ;  the  victors 
make  off  as  fast  as  they  can,  and  use — I  know  not 
how — their  indulgences. 

I  acknowledge  that  I  cannot  understand  how  a  Pro- 
testant can  turn  Catholic  at  Rome.  Rome  is  like  a 
most  magnificent  theatre  with  very  bad  actors.  Keep 
what  I  say  to  yourself,  for  it  will  run  through  all 
Vienna,  and  I  love  religion  and  its  triumph  too  much 
to  wish  to  cast  a  slur  upon  it  in  any  manner  whatever. 
In  all  this  it  is  evident  that  Italian  taste  has  much 
influence  in  the  ceremonies ;  what  pleases  and  excites 
laughter  on  this  side  of  the  Alps  causes  weeping  on  the 
other,  and  vice  versd.  One  ought  never  to  forget  to 
make  this  allowance — looking  on  and  keeping  silence, 
but  above  all  taking  good  care  not  to  betray  it. 

I  can  imagine  Gentz's  fears,  which,  however,  are 
certainly  more  reasonable  than  many  others  which  he 
has  had  within  the  last  few  years.  The  assassination  of 
Kotzebue  is  more  than  an  isolated  fact.  Tliis  will  be 
seen  by-and-by,  and  I  shall  not  be  the  last  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  it,  notwithstanding  the  blows  which  I  do  not 
fear,  however  much  I  may  be  exposed  to  them.  I  do 
not  allow  myself  to  be  put  out ;  I  go  my  own  way,  and 


224    EXTRACTS   FROM    METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

if  all  the  ministers  did  the  same,  things  would  not  be  as 
they  are.  I  assure  you  that  the  world  was  in  perfect 
health  in  1789  in  comparison  with  what  it  is  now. 

Marie  will  tell  you  more  than  I  can  of  what  we  are 
doing ;  she  can  only  tell  you  what  is  good,  except  of 
two  dinners  which  we  had  yesterday  at  the  Vatican- 
oily  dinners,  without  butter  or  eggs  :  infernal,  and  worse 
than  all  the  doctors'  stuff.  We  took  the  only  sensible 
course — that  is  to  say,  we  ate  nothing. 

314.  April  13. —  .  .  •.  Here  we  are  safely  through 
our  feasts  and  fasts,  which  is  indeed  a  happy  circum- 
stance. Marie  will  tell  you  of  the  pomp  of  Easter  Day, 
which  surpasses  all  that  one  can  imagine  of  splendour 
and  magnificence.  Even  what  is  not  in  good  taste  is 
fine ;  I  mention  specially  the  decoration  of  St.  Peter's, 
which  is  much  more  magnificent  when  the  pillars  are 
simply  of  marble  and  porphyry  than  when  they  are 
draped  in  crimson  damask.  But  these  thousands  of  yards 
of  damask,  lace,  and  festoons  silence  the  criticisms  of  the 
enhghtened  amateur  ;  they  overwhelm  him,  and  he  can 
criticise  no  longer  under  so  immense  a  weight.  The 
rehgious  ceremony  in  this  vast  building,  where  strong 
barriers  arrest  the  impetuous  strangers  ;  the  crowd  of 
cardinals,  bishops,  priests,  guards ;  the  immense  space 
which  is  given  up  to  worship  alone,  a  space  in  which 
men  seem  to  dwindle  in  the  same  proportion  as  the 
mind  expands  —all  is  magnificent. 

The  illumination  of  the  cupola  is  equally  so.  On 
this  occasion  it  was  not  confined  to  the  cupola,  the 
whole  front  and  colonnade  were  on  fire.  The  first  il- 
lumination was  designed  by  Michel  Angelo.  The  second, 
which  in  less  than  two  seconds  encircled  this  immense 
edifice  as  the  clock  strikes  a  certain  hour  (eight  at 
night),  was  simply  beyond  description.     After  looking 


FIREWORKS   AT   ROME.  225 

at  this  for  some  time,  one  wished  the  first  to  return, 
which  shone  at  intervals  between  the  torrents  of  light 
from  thousands  of  jets  of  fire. 

The  fireworks  at  the  Castle  of  St.  Angelo  were  the 
most  beautiful  I  have  ever  seen,  and  I  suppose  the  most 
beautiful  that  possibly  can  be  seen. 

You  doubtless  remember  the  girandole  let  off  in  the 
Place  Louis  XV.  in  1810.  Well,  this  was  the  same 
number  of  rockets  fired  from  a  separate  plateau,  and 
thrown  to  a  height  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  or  two 
hundred  feet,  giving  to  the  whole  the  appearance  of 
Vesuvius  in  eruption.  The  rest  of  the  fireworks  re- 
presented the  ancient  edifice,  with  its  hundreds  of 
columns,  its  immense  fountain,  &c.  The  whole  thing 
ended  mth  three  clusters  of  rockets,  of  which  one  was 
let  off  from  the  top  of  the  building  ;  the  two  others  were 
on  a  lower  level  and  extended  on  each  side.  To  com- 
plete the  effect,  guns  were  fired  from  the  batteries  of 
the  castle.  The  sight  was  worthy  of  the  best  days  of 
Eome. 

I  beg  you  to  shoAv  this  letter  to  Pilat :  it  will  save 
me  having  to  send  him  a  description,  and  will  furnish 
him  with  a  good  article  for  his  '  Observer.'  I  hope 
it  will  arrive  before  he  is  assassinated  by  some  Jena 
Liberal. 

Good-bye,  my  dear ;  we  are  all  as  well  as  could  be 
wished.  I  hope  that  you  are  well  too.  We  walk,  we 
see  all  there  is  to  be  seen  ;  I  work,  I  dine,  and  1  sleep. 
This  is  my  way  of  life  at  Eome,  and  Staudenheim  may 
be  easy,  for  my  health  was  never  better.  The  weather 
is  just  like  the  end  of  June  with  us.  The  trees  are  all 
green,  the  lilacs  are  in  blossom,  the  roses  have  been  out 
some  time. 

Good-bye.     My  love  to  you  all ! 
VOL.  III.  Q 


226     EXTRACTS   FROM  METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

315.  Naples,  Ajnil  30. — We  have  been  at  the  foot 
of  Vesuvius,  my  dear,  for  four  days. 

The  situation  of  Naples  is  more  beautiful,  and  at  the 
same  time  more  grand,  than  I  had  imagined.  Every- 
thing there  is  on  an  immense  scale.  The  mountains 
are  high  and  rugged  like  the  Alps.  Vesuvius  is  a  pro- 
digious mass,  certainly  larger  than  the  Schneeberg.  It 
is  seen  from  everywhere,  except  the  house  in  which  I 
live.  It  forms  part  of  the  inner  frame  of  the  great 
basin  of  Naples.  The  Pompeian  side  is  charming, 
although  exposed  to  continual  risks.  This  terrible 
neighbour  will  fall  in  some  day  ;  it  will  die  out  as 
twenty  other  volcanoes  have  done  in  the  chain  of  the 
Apennines  ;  but  it  may  still  cause  many  disasters  before 
it  disappears.  Since  April  13  it  has  been  unceas- 
ingly active ;  a  large  column  of  smoke  is  rising  from 
the  three  craters,  and  a  stream  of  lava  rolls  down  its 
side.  It  is  sometimes  so  bright  as  to  be  seen  by  day. 
At  night  it  resembles  a  stream  of  molten  iron. 

The  cultivation  and  charm  of  the  country  have  far 
surpassed  my  expectations.  The  country  between 
Terracina  and  Naples  is  very  like  Upper  Styria, 
especially  the  environs  of  Cilli  and  Laybach  ;  add  to 
this  valleys  the  size  of  those  on  the  Ehine,  vegetation 
quite  inconceivable  for  richness  and  intensity,  Vesuvius 
always  in  sight,  at  every  instant  new  vistas  over  the 
sea  and  over  the  most  picturesque  islands  in  the  world, 
and  you  have  an  idea  of  travelling  in  this  country. 
I  have  seen  many  things  in  this  world,  but  nothing 
more  beautiful,  nor  more  satisfying  both  to  mind  and 
body. 

Marie  will  tell  you  all  I  have  left  unsaid.  She  has 
so  much  my  way  of  seeing  and  judging  of  things  that  I 
can  trust  perfectly  to  her  letter.     The  bad  weather  is 


NAPLES   AND  PRUSSIA.  227 

in   our   favour.     Marie   will   be   able   to   write  you  a 
volume. 

The  difference  of  age,  sex,  and  tastes  is,  however, 
evident  in  her  letters  and  mine.  She  does  not  hesitate, 
for  example,  between  Naples  and  Eome.  I  should  have 
great  difficulty  in  giving  the  preference  to  Naples  over 
Rome,  and  I  should  wish  for  both  cities,  to  be  able  to 
enjoy  alternately  the  marvels  of  nature,  and  those 
created  by  the  grandest  human  intelhgence. 

The  Emperor  will  remain  here  until  May  25.  I 
shall  leave  one  day  before  him. 

316.  May  3. — Marie,  in  her  last  letter,  gave  you 
a  description  of  what  we  have  seen.  I  have  made  one 
more  excursion  than  she  has,  for  I  took  advantage  of  an 
hour  of  beautiful  sunshine  a  few  days  ago  to  pay  a  visit 
to  the  magnificent  Bay  of  Pozzuoli  and  Bai^e.  Marie, 
meantime,  was  in  attendance  at  the  Court,  and  she 
revenged  herself  to-day,  while  I  was  engaged  at  a 
grand  dinner  with  the  King,  by  going  to  Pozzuoli  itself 
All  these  places  are  so  near  each  other  that  it  only 
takes  one  or  two  hours  to  go  from  one  to  the  other. 
Heaven  has  been  pleased  to  create  the  most  beautiful 
sites  in  the  world,  and  men  have  had  the  good  sense  to 
make  use  of  them. 

There  is  no  greater  proof  of  the  good  taste  of  the 
ancients  than  the  choice  which  they  made  of  Hercu- 
laneum,  Pompeii,  Baiie,  &c.,  in  which  to  pass  the  most 
beautiful  months  of  the  year.  All  these  places  were  to 
the  Romans  what  Hietzing,  Hutteldorf,  and  Baden  are 
to  the  Viennese. 

This  is  a  fair  comparison,  even  from  the  point  of 
view  of  the  moral  grandeur  of  the  men  who  live  no 
longer  and  of  the  men  of  to-day  who  live  too  much. 

The  weather  being  in  a  state  of  convalescence,  we 

Q2 


228    EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE  LETTERS. 

intend  to-morrow  to  take  a  trip  to  Pompeii.  This  can 
be  done  in  one  morning. 

We  were  present  yesterday  at  tlie  procession  of  St. 
Janiiarius,  who  worked  his  miracle  at  eight  o'clock  in 
the  evening  in  the  church  of  St.  Clare.  This  procession, 
which  we  saw  leave  the  cathedral,  is  most  curious. 
Thirty-six  busts  of  saints  and  saintesses  in  good  sohd 
silver,  carried  by  lazzaroni  clothed  in  a  sort  of  mounte- 
bank livery  or  dressing-gowns,  more  dirty  even  than 
those  who  wear  them,  and  that  is  saying  a  good  deal — 
these  lazzaroni  liave  their  heads  covered  with  ragged 
caps  ;  priests  and  monks,  who  are  not  more  occupied 
with  their  holy  functions  than  the  spectators ;  all 
running,  shouting,  dashing  against  each  other,  and 
crowding  pell-mell.  This  is  what  I  saw.  As  the 
miracle  is  performed  during  a  whole  week,  I  shall  be 
present  at  it  one  of  these  days.  It  is  necessary  to  see 
the  people  here  to  form  any  idea  of  them,  and  it  is  a 
fact  that  they  are  a  hundred  times  cleaner  and  more 
civilised  than  they  were  twenty  years  ago.  The 
Government  has  done  much,  and  does  more"  every 
day. 

St.  Carlo  will  not  be  opened  till  next  Sunday,  at 
the  end  of  the  double  neuvaine.  In  the  meantime, 
I  was  present  yesterday  at  a  rehearsal  of  'Zoraide,' 
Kossini's  opera,  and  I  saw  the  house  thoroughly.  It 
is  unquestionably  the  most  beautiful  in  Europe.  Like 
St.  Peter's,  it  seems  smaller  than  it  is,  owing  to  its 
perfect  proportions  and  rich  decorations.  It  has  a 
hundred  and  eighty  boxes,  all  very  large,  and  it  accom- 
modates six  thousand  spectators.  Nevertheless,  we  can 
hear  perfectly  in  every  part  of  the  house.  We  shall 
have  eight  of  Eossini's  operas,  and  the  last  of  his  com- 
positions are  perhaps  the  most  beautiful.     I  spend  my 


VESUVIUS   AND   POMPEH.  229 

evenings  in  listenin"'  to  the  singinw  of  Davide  and  tlie 
principal  artistes  of  Italy. 

All  our  servants  spent  last  night  on  Vesuvius.  I 
could  not  help  laughing  when  I  heard  some  one  say  to 
the  King  this  morning  that  the  coiq?  d'ceil  which  he 
had  seen  last  night  of  Vesuvius  covered  with  flambeaux 
was  superb.  I  doubt  whether  Giroux  will  go  to  see 
Vesuvius  ;  he  still  denies  that  the  mountain  as  he  sees 
it  is  a  volcano.  He  says  that,  as  it  only  spits  fire  and 
vomits  smoke,  it  cannot  be  a  volcano  ;  and  that  he  is 
not  fool  enough  not  to  know  that  a  volcano  is  just  like 
the  fireworks  which  he  saw  at  Rome. 

This  Vesuvius,  my  dear,  is  a  most  imposing  and 
splendid  spectacle.  Unhappily,  I  cannot  see  it  from 
my  window,  but  from  everywhere  else — that  is  to  say, 
a  hundred  steps  from  my  house.  It  can  be  seen  as  soon 
as  it  is  dark,  like  an  immense  beacon.  A  great  eruption, 
such  as  that  of  1814,  must  indeed  be  a  wonderful  sight. 
The  mountain  is  so  near  the  city,  the  slope  to  it  is  so 
direct,  that  a  new  crater — and  a  new  one  is  being 
formed  with  each  eruption — will  one  day  place  it  in 
great  danger.  The  Neapolitans,  however,  never  think  of 
this  ;  they  are  like  sailors,  who  forget  that  there  is  only 
a  plank  between  them  and  the  deep,  and  one  is  tempted 
to  forget,  in  the  perfect  enjoyment  of  a  nature  so 
beautiful  and  smiling,  that  danger  may  be  so  close  at 
hand. 

317.  Naples,  May  4. — This  morning  I  went  to  see 
Pompeii.  Nothing  is  more  curious  than  this  relic, 
seventeen  centuries  old.  Fate  seems  to  have  buried  it 
to  give  future  generations  a  complete  idea  of  Roman 
customs.  Scarcely  a  twentieth  part  of  Pompeii  is 
uncovered.  One  can  walk  in  the  amphitheatre,  the 
forum,  the  basilica,  in  two  theatres — one  for  tragedy 


230     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

and  the  other  for  comedy — i!i  four  temples,  in  the 
midst  of  the  tombs,  through  three  streets  on  the 
original  pavement ;  one  can  enter  more  than  a  hundred 
shops  and  houses,  on  the  doors  of  which  the  name  of 
the  proprietor  is  written  :  and  all  these  places  are  just  as 
they  were  the  day  they  were  engulphed.  The  altars  of 
the  temples  and  the  tombs  are  as  fresh  as  if  they  were  in  a 
sculptor's  studio ;  the  town  is  large  enough  to  have 
contained  from  thirty  to  forty  thousand  inhabitants ; 
the  temples,  the  forum,  and  the  theatres  are  as  beautiful 
as  they  could  be  in  a  Eoman  capital,  and  as  they  ought 
to  be  in  a  Christian  one.  We  have  all  very  bad  taste 
in  1819. 

318.  May  7. — I  meant  to  have  despatched  a 
courier  to  you  eight  days  ago.  We  lead  such  a  busy 
life  here  that  days  pass  like  hours ;  it  will  leave  us, 
however,  a  very  agreeable  recollection.  I  suppose 
Marie  has  given  you  an  account  of  what  we  have  done 
lately.  Our  trip  to  Baise  was  certainly  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  that  could  be  imagined ;  that  district  is  as 
classic  as  it  is  beautiful,  and  that  is  saying  a  great 
deal. 

I  do  not  know  if  you  have  a  translation  of  Virgil's 
jEneid ;  at  any  rate,  try  to  get  one,  and  read  the  be- 
ginning of  the  sixth  canto.  He  describes  all  the  places 
where  we  have  been,  and  really  it  is  difficult  to  express 
what  one  feels  on  setting  one's  foot  on  the  Champs- 
Elysees,  approaching  the  banks  of  Acheron,  and  the 
ferry  where  Charon  crossed  and  recrossed  with  his 
boat.  You  find  yourself  on  the  very  spot  where  ^neas 
embarked,  you  enter  the  grotto  of  the  Sibyl  of  Cuma3 ; 
in  a  word,  you  do  all  that  seems  to  belong  only  to  the 
domain  of  fancy.  It  is  natural  that  a  religion  entirely 
sensual  should   find  its  paradise  in  a  land  of  dehghts : 


VESUVIUS.  231 

the  Christian  religion,  entirely  intellectual,  looks  beyond 
the  clouds,  to  a  country  vast  and  vague  as  thought 
itself. 

Marie  will  tell  you  that  we  drank  your  health  on 
the  highest  rising  ground  in  the  Champs  Elysees.  No 
description  could  do  justice  to  the  beauty  of  this  situa- 
tion. Twenty  different  points  of  view,  immense  rocks, 
islands  as  picturesque  as  possible,  unparalleled  richness 
of  vegetation,  a  soft  and  gentle  air ;  in  the  distance 
Vesuvius  throwing  an  immense  column  of  smoke  high 
in  the  air ;  the  ground  covered  with  ruins  of  palaces 
and  temples — I  can  only  give  you  a  very  feeble  picture 
of  what  is  indeed  far  beyond  imagination. 

The  Gulf  of  Baite  bears  the  palm  even  over  that  of 
Naples,  and  the  Eomans  had  some  of  their  principal  esta- 
bhshments  there  also.  Pozzuoli,  Bai«,  Cumte  were  three 
large  towns,  and,  to  judge  by  what  remains,  the  country 
must  have  been  for  miles  covered  with  houses.  The 
sea  has,  besides,  gained  on  the  coast  in  consequence  of 
earthquakes  and  volcanic  eruptions.  The  shore  is 
always  strewed  with  fragments  of  mosaic  and  remains 
of  architecture  deposited  by  the  waves. 

"We  are  going  to-day  to  make  the  ascent  of  Vesuvius. 
Have  no  uneasiness  on  our  account.  We  shall  dine  at 
home  at  one  o'clock ;  we  shall  be  on  the  summit  about 
six  o'clock,  and  from  it  we  shall  see  sunset.  We  shall 
want  a  little  darkness  to  judge  of  the  effects  of  the  lava, 
and  we  shall  be  at  home  by  ten  or  eleven  o'clock. 
Vesuvius  is  paying  us  great  attention.  Without  being 
in  complete  eruption,  it  has  been  active  for  nearly  a 
month.  Last  night,  for  example,  it  was  furrowed  by 
five  streams  of  lava.  In  this  state  it  has  the  effect  of  an 
immense  charcoal  fire,  suspended  some  thousand  feet  in 
the  air  ;  every  five  or  ten  minutes  there  rises  from  the 


232     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

crater  an  immense  jet,  like  the  bouquet  in  fireworks. 
The  column  of  fire  is  of  difierent  colours  ;  in  this  respect, 
a^ain,  it  resembles  fireworks.  Nature  works  here  in  a 
manner  at  once  very  patent  and  very  mysterious.  One 
sees  but  cannot  understand  it. 

319.  May  12. — I  begin  my  letter  to-day,  my  dear, 
with  Vesuvius.  I  told  you  in  my  last  that  we  were  going 
there,  and  I  promised  you  that  we  should  return  safe 
and  sound.     We  have  kept  our  word. 

On  May  7  there  met  at  my  liouse  Tini  Grassalkowich, 
Therese,  her  pupil ;  Sclionburg,  Kaunitz,  d'Aspre,  Paar, 
and  all  my  gentlemen  except  Mercy ;  we  dined  at  one 
o'clock,  and  we  arrived  at  the  hermitage,  which  is 
about  a  third  of  the  distance,  at  four  o'clock.  We  let 
our  horses  rest  for  half  an  hour,  and  went  on  again  for 
half  a  league,  to  the  foot  of  the  great  cone  which  forms 
the  modern  Vesuvius,  since  it  separated  from  Mount 
Somma  to  engulf  Herculaneum  and  Pompeii.  Between 
the  hermitage  and  the  cone  there  are  immense  torrents 
of  old  lava,  a  veritable  chaos,  worthy  of  the  lower 
regions.  Up  to  this  time  it  is  tolerably  easy,  but  here 
begins  a  fatigue  one  may  call  supernatural,  for  God 
never  made  Vesuvius  to  be  climbed  by  men.  Picture 
to  yourself  a  slope,  not  like  the  roof  of  a  house,  but 
something  like  the  bell  in  St.  Mchael's  tower,  many 
hundred  feet  high,  covered  with  rolling  stones  large 
and  small,  rocks,  hardened  lava,  the  scorise  of  lava, 
not  a  plant,  not  a  place  to  rest. 

We  had  prepared  four  seats.  These  seats  were 
placed  on  two  litters,  which  four  men  carried  on  their 
shoulders,  two  others  drawing  them  with  ropes.  These 
men  had  to  be  relieved  every  five  minutes.  Those  who 
walked  were  dragged  by  two  men,  who  had  belts  round 
the  waist  for  that  purpose. 


ASCENT   OF  VESUVIUS.  233 

Tini,  Marie,  Kaunitz,  and  I  occupied  these  seats.  I 
left  mine  when  we  had  got  about  a  third  of  the  way,  for 
I  would  rather  have  broken  my  leg  than  be  carried  any 
further.  Of  the  four  porters,  there  was  always  one  at 
least  on  the  ground.  What  completes  the  charm  of 
this  journey  is  that,  once  undertaken,  there  is  no  going 
back.  No  one  can  descend  by  the  same  way  he  came, 
and  the  descent,  which  I  will  describe  to  you  by-and- 
by,  only  begins  at  the  summit  of  the  mountain. 

After  going  up  for  an  hour  and  a  half  of  this  climb- 
ing, we  arrived  at  the  fresh  lava,  where  everyone  is 
obliged  to  walk.  They  choose  for  a  path  the  streams  of 
three  or  four  days  old,  for  they  are  hard  on  the  sur- 
face and  less  rugged.  Imagine  a  canal  covered  with 
flagstones  of  all  shapes,  badly  joined,  and  instead  of 
water  a  mass  of  iron  red-hot  just  beneath  the  surface, 
and  you  will  have  some  idea  of  this  path.  At  this 
point  Marie  would  go  no  further.  You  know  what  a 
coward  she  is,  and  I  cannot  understand  hov.^  she  allowed 
herself  to  be  carried  so  far  up.  But  when  she  felt  her 
feet  scorching,  when  the  first  puffs  of  sulphurous  vapour 
reached  her,  she  began  to  cry,  and  I  had  her  taken 
down  by  the  help  of  Pepi  and  four  men.  There  only 
remained  about  fifty  feet  more  to  climb,  and  our  task 
was  accomplished. 

Once  arrived  at  the  summit,  we  saw  craters  on  all 
sides,  and  quite  close  to  us,  for  the  present  plateau  is 
not  much  larger  than  two-thirds  of  the  Place  de  la  Cour 
at  Vienna.  It  is  in  the  form  of  a  funnel  in  the  middle, 
and  on  each  side  rise  two  veritable  chimneys  made  of 
sulphur  and  calcareous  substances,  about  six  feet  high, 
and  of  which  one  has  an  opening  of  perhaps  fifteen  feet 
in  diameter,  and  the  other  of  four  feet  at  the  most.  It 
is  from  these  chimneys  that  the  flames  and  fire  issue, 


234    EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

for  the  lava  makes  its  appearance  nearly   a  hundred 
feet  below  the  summit  on  the  side  of  the  mountain. 

The  smoke  and  flames  rise  unceasingly  from  Vesu- 
vius in  its  present  state ;  the  form  and  appearance 
change  every  instant  ;  the  chimneys  alone  remain  the 
same.  Every  five  or  ten  minutes  an  eruption  is  an- 
nounced by  a  subterranean  noise,  and  a  slight  trembhng 
of  the  mountain.  The  noise  resembles  a  discliarge  of 
twenty  large  guns  in  the  interior  of  a  vault.  Then  an 
immense  jet  of  fire  rises  above  the  craters,  like  the 
bouquet  in  fireworks ;  burning  scoriaa  shoot  up  to  the 
height  of  eighty  or  a  hundred  feet,  and  fall  back  into 
the  funnel  and  on  the  sides  of  the  mountain.  There  is 
no  danger  if  one  stands  out  of  the  wind. 

The  flames,  the  smoke,  the  burning  substances 
hurled  into  the  air,  the  noise  of  the  explosions,  are  as 
different  from  the  most  splendid  fireworks  as  are  gene- 
rally the  grand  sjDCctacles  of  nature  from  those  of 
human  device. 

I  could  scarcely  tear  myself  away  from  a  spectacle 
full  of  beauties  beyond  description,  and  at  the  same 
time  full  of  awe  impossible  to  describe. 

The  view  from  the  summit  of  the  mountain  is 
simply  magical  ;  it  takes  in  all  the  islands,  bays,  and 
coasts  ;  the  whole  country  lies  before  one  as  on  a  map. 
We  watched  the  sun  sink  down  into  the  waves  of  the 
sea,  and  then  sought  for  a  safer  place  to  wait  the 
approach  of  night ;  we  found  it  about  fifty  or  sixty  feet 
lower  down,  out  of  the  way  of  the  eruptions,  and  above 
the  flow  of  lava,  which  at  night  takes  quite  a  new 
aspect.  Elvers  of  lava,  reaching  as  far  as  one  can  see, 
tliere  issue  forth.  The  course  of  lava  is  very  slow ;  I 
do  not  think  it  advances  more  than  two  feet  a  minute. 
About  half  past  nine,  we   began  our  descent,  by  the 


DESCENT  FROM  VESUVIUS.  2d& 

light  of  the  volcano,  the  lava,  the  beautiful  Naples 
jnoon — that  moon  which  Caracciolo  compared  to  the 
London  sun — and  twenty  torches. 

This  descent,  which  is  made  on  the  opposite  side  to 
the  ascent,  is  at  once  more  convenient  and  more  incon- 
venient, more  serious  and  more  ridiculous.  Sinking 
to  the  knees  first  in  cinders,  then  in  sand,  one  allows 
oneself  to  slide  down  perpendicularly,  and  in  ten 
minutes  you  are  at  the  foot  of  the  cone,  like  an 
avalanche,  and  with  a  real  avalanche.  There  is  no 
danger,  no  fatigue,  and  it  is  like  nothing  that  one  has 
ever  done  before  in  one's  life. 

Marie  came  to  meet  us  at  the  spot  where  we  fell — 
for  it  was  a  fall  most  literally.  She  was  in  raptures  at 
seeing  me  again,  and  we  had  an  excellent  supper,  which 
Jablonowsky  prepared  for  us  at  the  hermitage. 

All   that  I  have  told  you  is  a  very  faint  sketch  of  a 
most  extraordinary  picture.     Well,  in  the  midst  of  so 
many  perils,  no  misfortune  ever  happens  to  any  obedient 
pilgrims.     There  are  sometimes  amateurs  who  pretend 
to  know  much  more  than  their  guides,  and  some  acci- 
dent may  happen  then  ;    while  if  you  are  docile  you 
get  off  with  little  fatigue  and  no  risk.     Our  principal 
guide    generally   goes    three   or   four   times    between 
Portici    and    the    summit    of    the    mountain    in    twice 
twenty-four    hours.      None    of    our    guides,    porters, 
guardian  angels — call  them  what  you  will — allows   a 
single  day  to  pass  without  taking  this  journey,  for  a 
sum  of  barely  six  francs.     The  path  from  Portici  to  the 
crater    is    constantly — day    and    niglit — like   a   great 
thoroughfare  :  all  foreigners  wish  to  have  seen  Vesuvius  ; 
the  Neapolitans  themselves  are  the  only  persons  who 
never  go  up  ;  just  as  I  have  never  been  to  the  top  of 
the  Kahlenberg. 


236     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

I  am  delighted  to  have  seen  what  I  shall  never  see 
again.  No  one  has  any  idea  of  the  thing  without 
having  been  there,  and  an  eruption  of  the  volcano 
would  no  longer  astonish  me.  The  road  by  which  we 
went  up  to  the  summit  a  few  days  ago  exists  no  longer. 
The  stream  of  lava  is  much  larger,  and  it  is  necessary 
to  take  a  different  direction. 

I  suppose  Marie  has  told  you  of  the  Villa  Gallo,  a 
veritable  chef-d' ceuvre  of  nature,  and  one  of  the  rare 
examples  where  the  proprietor  has  had  the  good  sense 
to  embellish  it  by  beautiful  plantations.  A  summer 
passed  in  this  place  must  be  enchanting.  Yesterday 
the  king  gave  a  ball  at  his  Palace  of  Capo  di  Monte.  It 
was  a  beautiful  fete^  and  any  fete  illuminated  by  the 
lava  of  Vesuvius  is  always  most  striking  to  strangers. 
The  N^eapolitans  alone  do  not  trouble  themselves 
about  it. 

320.  j^ldy  19. — I  can  only  write  a  few  words,  my 
dear,  for  I  write  between  our  return  from  Psestum  and 
the  departure  of  the  courier,  whom  the  Emperor  has 
delayed  only  to  await  my  arrival. 

We  left  Naples  the  day  before  yesterday,  and  slept 
the  same  night  at  Salerno.  We  stopped  on  the  way  to 
see  a  temple,  or  rather  a  church,  built  near  Nocera  by 
Guiscard,  the  Norman  king,  with  debris  taken  from 
Pa3stum  ;  and  the  Abbey  of  Cava,  a  charming  place, 
celebrated  for  its  scientific  collections.  Yesterday  we 
passed  the  wdiole  day  at  Pjestum,  and  returned  to 
Salerno  at  eleven  o'clock  at  night.  This  morning  we 
visited  Vietri,  and  came  back  to  Naples  two  hours 
ago. 

PoBstum  is  worthy  of  the  highest  admiration.  The 
three  temples,  still  standing — and  which  may,  from  their 
great  solidity,   stand    for    many  centuries    more — date 


P.ESTUM.  237 

back  to  fabulous  times.  They  certainly  belong  to  a 
time  anterior  to  the  foundation  of  Eome.  Their  style 
of  architecture  resembles  the  Doric,  but  it  is  not  so 
refined  as  that  which  has  borne  this  name  in  later 
periods.  Placed  originally  in  a  city  renowned  for  its 
dehghtful  environs,  and  for  the  quantity  of  roses  its 
gardens  contained,  they  stand  now,  in  the  midst  of  a 
plain  given  up  to  buffaloes  and  aquatic  birds.  The 
situation  is  magnificent,  for  it  stands  on  the  Gulf  of 
Salerno  ;  but  the  country  ceases  to  be  habitable  towards 
the  middle  of  June.  The  malaria  arrives  in  this  country 
as  soon  as  it  is  depopulated.  This  place  is  interesting 
to  me,  among  other  things,  because  it  is  the  most 
southerly  that  I  have  ever  visited.  The  distance  from 
Naples  in  a  straight  line  is  nearly  sixty  miles.  The 
weather  was  very  favourable  for  us  ;  it  is  now  settled 
fine,  and  "fine"  here  is  a  very  different  thing  from 
what  it  is  with  us.  Marie  complains  of  the  heat — I 
think,  without  cause,  for  though  the  sun  is  certainly 
scorching  between  eleven  and  four  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, there  is  always  a  breeze  from  the  sea  ;  the  air  is 
cool,  the  heat  is  slight,  and  I  am  in  my  element.  Also, 
I  never  remember  to  have  felt  better  in  health. 

The  departure  of  the  Emperor  is  fixed  for  the  31st 
of  this  month.  He  did  not  wish  to  refuse  a  pressing 
invitation  from  the  King  to  remain  here  for  his  fete-diij , 
the  30th.  I  intend  to  start  on  the  28th,  on  account  of 
the  arrangements  for  the  horses  ;  the  King  will  perhaps 
not  like  it,  but  I  shall  do  all  I  can  to  get  a  few  days 
more  at  Eome,  where  there  are  still  many  things  for  me 
to  see. 


238    EXTRACTS  FROM  METTERNICH'S  PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

Metternich  to  his  Mother. 

321.  Naples^  May  21. — The  Emperor's  journey  has 
been  in  all  respects  a  success,  and  my  only  regret  is 
that  what  we  now  see  in  passing  is  not  what  I  shall 
have  to  see  all  the  rest  of  my  Ufe.  Our  tastes  are  so 
much  alike  that  I  am  convinced  you  would  be  the 
happiest  person  in  the  world  in  this  country.  All  that 
nature  has  ever  made  most  beautiful,  most  majestic, 
and  most  charming  she  has  thrown  here  in  a  perfect 
flood  on  all  that  one  sees,  feels,  and  touches.  You  love 
mountains  :  well,  this  is  like  Switzerland ;  you  love  a 
clear  bright  sky :  you  have  it  here  with  a  constancy  un- 
known among  us.  This  country  is  all  that  one  could 
wish  ;  it  contains  all  that  one  finds  wanting  in  other 
countries,  and  if  the  people  were  but  in  harmony  with 
nature  nothing  would  be  left  to  be  desired. 

.  .  .  The  Emperor  was  on  Vesuvius  last  night.  He 
saw  the  sun  rise,  a  superb  sight  from  such  an  elevated 
spot,  which  looks  over  countries  equally  magnificent. 

...  I  intend  to  leave  for  Rome  on  the  28th  of  this 
month.  I  shall  leave  the  Emperor  at  Milan  in  the  be- 
ginning of  July,  and  I  shall  be  at  Carlsbad  on  the  15th, 
or  soon  after.  I  go  there  simply  because  Staudenheim 
wishes  it,  for  my  health  is  very  good  Hot  climates 
are  made  for  me — or  rather,  which  is  more  modest,  I  am 
made  for  them.  I  sleep  better,  I  have  a  better  appetite, 
and,  in  a  word,  I  am  a  different  being  than  when  seated 
behind  a  stove.  I  have  the  same  nature  as  the  palm- 
tree,  which  will  not  grow  where  it  is  cold,  and  which 
dies  in  a  hot-house.  Here  they  grow  sixty  feet,  and 
without  asserting  that  I  shall  reach  the  same  height,  I 
can  boast  of  flourishing  like  them  under  the  influence 
of  the  same  sky. 


ROME.  239 

Metternich  to  his  Wife. 

322.  Rome,  June  6. —  ...  The  Emperor,  who  in- 
tended to  leave  to-morrow  has  put  off  his  journey  till 
the  day  after  the  feast  of  Corpus  Christi ;  not  because 
he  wished  to  see  the  religious  ceremony  at  Eome,  but 
because  the  Httle  Archduchess  Caroline  is  slightly  in- 
disposed, and  Stifft  has  advised  the  Emperor  to  let  her 
stay  here  a  few  days  longer.  Instead  of  leaving  on 
Friday  the  11th,  I  shall  start  on  Saturday  the  12th. 

.  .  .  You  are  mistaken  in  thinking  that  I  shall  not 
be  at  Carlsbad  in  time.  I  shall  be  there  for  certain 
between  the  15th  and  the  20th  of  July,  and  I  beg  you  to 
tell  Staudenheim  that  I  shall  be  delighted  to  see  him 
there. 

.  .  .  Besides,  a  great  deal  of  business  awaits  me 
there,  for  while  I  go  to  establish  my  own  health,  I  can- 
not forget  that  Europe,  and  especially  Germany,  is  in 
a  far  worse  case  than  all  the  drinkers  of  water  whom  I 
shall  meet  at  Carlsbad.  I  shall  return  to  Vienna  in  the 
beginning  of  September,  and  I  should  be  very  glad  if  I 
could  have  been  there  sooner. 

The  Emperor,  however,  cannot  arrive  till  about  the 
same  time  ;  if,  therefore,!  had  continued  to  travel  with 
him  all  the  time,  I  should  not  be  much  more  advanced. 
.  .  .  Two  days  ago  we  took  a  trip  to  Tivoli.  Every- 
thing in  this  country  is  gigantic.  Tivoli  far  surpassed 
my  expectation  with  respect  to  its  situation,  the  mag- 
nificence of  its  falls  and  of  its  vegetation.  The  word 
cascatelle  sounds  so  small  that  one  does  not  expect  to 
find  twenty  cascades,  containing  an  immense  volume  of 
water,  precipitated  from  a  height  of  four  or  five  hun- 
dred feet,  dashing  over  rocks  of  a  form  and  structure 
altogether  extraordinary,  for  they  are  themselves   only 


240     EXTRACTS   FROM  METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

the  product  of  the  waters.  I  cannot  understand  why 
there  is  not  a  single  exact  picture  either  of  Eome  or  its 
environs :  only  portions  of  the  city  or  the  neighbour- 
hood are  represented.  I  suppose  it  is  the  extent  of  the 
undertaking  which  frightens  the  artists.  I  will  bring 
you  a  view  taken  from  one  of  the  windows  of  my 
drawing-room,  which  was  drawn  for  me  by  a  French 
artist  of  great  merit.  This  view  is  exact,  and  you  will 
tell  me  if  ever  you  have  seen,  at  any  theatre  whatever, 
a  drop-scene  which  could  be  compared  to  it.  The  de- 
corations of  the  Triomphe  de  Trajan  are  the  merest 
trifles  compared  to  what  is  seen  here  from  every 
window,  provided  always  it  does  not  look  on  a  bhnd 
alley. 

Lawrence  has  taken  up  his  abode  at  the  Quirinal, 
and  all  Kome  goes  to  see  him.  His  reputation  is  made 
as  thoroughly  as  that  of  the  Coliseum.  Cammuccini 
says  he  is  the  Titian  of  the  nineteenth  century.  My 
portrait  meets  with  great  approbation ;  Clementine's  is 
charming,  and  I  am  sure  that  if  ever  she  comes  to  Eome 
she  will  be  obliged  to  wear  a  veil,  in  order  not  to  lose 
too  much  in  the  eyes  of  the  many  curious  people  who 
are  anxious  to  see  her  because  of  her  portrait.  He  has 
begun  the  portrait  of  the  Pope,  and  is  next  going  to 
take  Cardinal  Consalvi. 

323.  June  10. — This  morning  we  had  a  grand  ce- 
remony, one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  Eome — the  pro- 
cession of  Corpus  Christi.  It  may  well  be  superb,  for 
the  procession  passes  through  all  the  colonnades  of  the 
Piazza  of  St.  Peter's.  The  ceremony  is  so  thoroughly 
religious,  that  it  seems  to  me  nothing  could  be  added 
or  taken  away  without  injury.  I  do  not  care  for  cere- 
monies in  general :  they  leave  a  void  in  the  heart,  and 
do  not  even  satisfy  the  senses  :  but  I  must  do  justice  to 


EOSARY   GIVEN   BY   THE   POPE.  241 

that  of  this  day.  It  would  be  impossible  to  adore  the 
majesty  of  God  with  more  submission  or  with  more 
dignity. 

324.  Perugia,  June  17. — What  is  most  annoying  to 
me  in  the  matter*  is  that  probably  I  shall  be  obliged  to 
leave  the  Emperor  at  Florence,  and  consequently  shall 
not  go  to  Milan,  I  shall  console  myself  no  doubt  for 
not  going  to  Lombardy,  but  I  believe  I  should  have 
been  able  to  be  of  service  to  the  Emperor  there,  and  I 
therefore  regret  that  I  cannot  accompany  him. 

You  see  that  in  any  case  I  am  determined  not  to 
arrive  later  than  the  middle  of  July  at  Carlsbad.  In 
this  I  am  not  yielding  to  Staudenheim's  pedantry,  for  it 
may  be  as  hot,  and  even  hotter,  towards  the  end  of 
August  than  in  the  middle  of  July  at  Carlsbad,  as  it  is 
everywhere  else ;  but  such  important  business  requires 
me  at  a  certain  time  that  I  choose  the  opportunity  of 
being  most  useful,  and  sacrifice  the  chance  of  being  less 
so.  Besides,  I  reckon  on  the  most  beautiful  weather 
coming  at  the  end  of  the  summer,  for  the  spring,  and 
even  the  month  of  June,  have  been  so  cold  that  warmth 
must  surely  have  its  turn. 

....  !Marie  has  sent  you  a  most  beautiful  rosary 
which  the  Pope  gave  me.  I  make  you  a  present  of  it, 
but  it  must  remain  in  tlie  family  as  a  souvenir.  The 
Pope  has  been  good  and  kind  to  everybody.  I  passed 
two  hours  with  him  the  last  day  I  was  there,  and  I  am 
convinced  there  never  was  a  man  in  his  position  so 
plain  and  simple,  and  at  the  same  time  so  enlightened. 
He  had  tears  in  his  eyes  wlien  he  spoke  to  me  of  his 
regret  at  the  Emperor's  departure,  and  he  told  me  why. 
He  had  from  the  first  been  more  than  pleased  with  the 

•  The  illness  of  the  Archduchess  Caroline. 
VOL.  III.  R 


242     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

Emperor,  who  always  improves  on  acquaintance,  and 
he  said  he  should  again  feel  so  lonely !  The  Quirinal 
has  really  become  once  more  a  cloister.  In  this  im- 
mense palace  there  only  now  remain  the  Pope — whose 
Court  is  not  larger  than  that  of  a  '  Hofrath  ' — Cardinal 
Consalvi,  and  Lawrence.  The  annual  expenses  of  the 
Pope  amount  to  three  thousand  crowns. 

The  portrait  which  Lawrence  is  painting  is  a  real 
chef-d'oeuvre ;  he  has  taken  the  Pope  full-face,  seated  in 
the  grand  chair  in  which  he  is  carried  during  the  solemn 
ceremonies.  The  Pope's  countenance  is  good  and  spiri- 
tuelle  ;  he  is  somewhat  worn,  but  his  eyes  are  those  of  a 
young  man,  and  he  has  not  a  single  grey  hair.  You 
know  how  clever  Lawrence  is  at  eyes  and  hair ;  so  he 
is  here  on  his  own  ground.  Lawrence  spent  all  his  time 
with  me  at  Eome,  and  he  cried  like  a  child  when  I  left. 
I  asked  him  the  price  of  Clementine's  portrait ;  he  said 
to  Floret,  whom  I  sent  to  ask  him,  that  he  should  have 
looked  upon  the  very  question  as  an  insult,  only  he 
knew  me  so  well.  '  I  painted  Clementine,'  said  he,  '  for 
the  love  I  bear  her  father,  her  mother,  all  her  family, 
and  for  self-love  too  ! ' 

....  Thorwaldsen  has  finished  my  bust.  It  will 
be  perfect.  This  artist  will  see  you  very  soon  ;  he  will 
spend  a  fortnight  at  Vienna  on  his  way  to  Warsaw, 
where  he  is  going  to  erect  a  monument  to  Poniatowski. 
I  have  given  him  a  letter  for  you  ;  you  will  be  well 
pleased  with  him,  for  he  is  as  modest  as  he  is  clever. 
These  qualities  always  go  together. 

325.  June  19. — I  am  waiting  to  leave  here  till  the 
Emperor  goes,  or  rather  I  wait  for  the  chance  of  meet- 
ing Capo  d'Istria  at  Bologna.  In  this  case  I  sliall  go 
from  here  to  that  city  by  the  Forli  route,  to  join  tlie 
Emperor  at  Florence  afterwards.     I  shall  leave  Italy  on 


PERUGIA.  243 

July  20  at  the  latest.  You  shall,  however,  have  the 
exact  itinerary.  You  see  I  shall  not  accompany  the 
Emperor  to  Milan. 

...  .1  am  at  this  moment  passing  through  one  of 
the  most  magnificent  and  picturesque  countries  in  the 
world.  I  have  never  seen  a  situation  like  that  of 
Perugia.  Every  side  is  alike  grand.  The  town  is  situ- 
ated, like  most  of  the  towns  in  the  Apennines,  on  a  high 
elevation,  and  looks  over  more  than  a  hundred  leagues 
of  country.  The  land  below  is  hilly,  and  covered  with 
fields,  beautiful  as  g;ardens.  The  mountains  in  the  dis- 
tance  are  as  high  as  the  Alps.  Every  inch  of  the  ground 
is  famous.  To  the  right,  near  the  Lake  of  Thrasimene, 
Hannibal  defeated  the  Eomans.  Before  me  is  Assisi, 
famous  as  the  birthplace  of  St.  Francis,  and  for  a  Temple 
of  Minerva,  built  by  Augustus,  and  one  of  the  best 
preserved  I  have  seen  ;  Spoleto,  the  ancient  residence 
of  Astolphe  and  Desiderius,  kings  of  Lombardy  ;  thou- 
sands of  olive-trees,  green  oaks,  a  magnificent  vegeta- 
tion.    The  orange-trees  have  ceased  since  Eome. 

At  Spoleto  I  was  shown  as  a  curiosity  an  espalier  of 
lemons,  which  were  only  covered  during  the  three 
months  of  winter.  I  felt  rather  melancholy  when  they 
told  me  that ;  I  had  just  come  from  a  country  where 
they  are  always  in  flower  !  I  have  often  told  you  my 
nature  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  orange-trees.  Their 
climate  is  necessary  for  me  to  bear  good  fruit.  The  air 
here  is  as  cold  as  on  our  mountains ;  it  is  very  healthy, 
and  the  best  proof  of  this  is  furnished  by  a  visit  which 
Jaeger  paid  to  the  hospital  to-day.  He  says  it  is  an 
immense  place — everything  is  large  in  Italy — and  he 
only  found  there  ten  or  twelve  old  invalids.  The  doc- 
tors told  him  they  could  not  make  a  living  here,  the 
hospital  being  always  the  most  deserted  place  in  the 

E  2 


244    EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

town,  which  has  nevertheless  a  population  of  seventeen 
thousand  souls. 

By  comparing  the  country  towns  of  Italy  with  those 
of  any  other  country  one  is  able  to  form  an  idea  of  the 
intrinsic  value  of  these  places.  Perugia  is  what  Iglau 
is  with  us — a  country  town  about  fifty  leagues  from  the 
capital.  Here  there  are  ten  palaces,  each  of  them 
larger  than  the  old  Liechtenstein  palace.  I  occupy  one 
which  is  certainly  more  than  twice  the  size.  These 
palaces  are  full  of  old  but  beautiful  furniture.  There 
are  also  splendid  pictures,  and  a  great  number  of 
marbles.  The  palace  which  the  Emperor  occupies 
would  be  the  most  beautiful  house  in  Vienna.  The 
proprietor  is  a  young  man  who  has  married  a  sister  of 
Prince  Odescalchi,  and  he  refurnished  it  three  years  ago, 
at  the  time  of  his  marriage. 

There  are  two  theatres  at  Perugia  going  on  at  the 
same  time ;  an  opera  house  as  large  as  that  of  the 
Kilrntnerthor,  and  one  for  comedy  as  large  as  the 
Wieden  ;  three  large  churches,  magnificent,  of  wliich 
two  are  painted  entirely  in  fresco  by  the  best  masters, 
among  others  Pietro  Perugino,  Eaphael's  master ;  a 
university  in  a  magnificent  situation,  and  an  academy  of 
fine  arts  better  appointed  than  that  of  Vienna. 

In  all  these  places,  which  are  full  of  idlers,  there  are 
singers  who  would  give  great  pleasure  at  Vienna,  bad 
comedians  playing  detestable  pieces,  a  crowd  of  mendi- 
cants too  lazy  to  gather  the  fruits  which  fall  into  their 
mouths  and  the  vegetables  on  which  they  walk.  After 
all,  out  of  a  hundred  of  these  sluggards,  eighty  of  them 
are  clever,  and  often  not  one  who  would  be  unbearably 
tiresome.  There  is  not  one  who  has  not  all  the  appear- 
ance of  poverty,  yet  nevertheless  has  his  purse  well 
furnished.  • 


GIROUX   AND   THE   CARDINAL.  245 

I  do  not  believe  that  any  two  countries  can  be  less 
alike  than  Germany  and  Italy,  and  yet  our  wiseacres  at 
Vienna  wish,  cost  what  it  may,  to  make  Italians  of  the 
Germans.     Theii'  plan  will  succeed  marvellously ! 

Mettei'nich  to  his  daughter  Marie,  Perugia,  June  22. 

326.  So  you  are  at  Trieste,  my  dear  Marie  ! — 
and  I  am  at  Perugia — ^just  as  you  left  me. 

....  We  had  the  Cardinal  here  for  two  days. 
He  shed  tears  on  hearing  you  were  gone.  The  last 
battle  I  had  with  him  was  about  an  armchair,  which  he 
never  liked  to  sit  upon,  because  at  my  writing-table  I 
had  only  a  common  chair.  Now,  there  were  at  first 
none  but  grand  yellow  armchairs  in  my  room,  and,  as 
they  are  too  high,  I  had  had  an  old  chair  brought  from 
the  antechamber  for  my  writing-table.  The  dispute  was 
settled  by  the  Cardinal  marching  off  to  the  antechamber 
to  find  a  similar  chair  for  himself,  but  he  did  not  allow 
-me  to  accompany  him. 

When  he  left  he  again  embraced  Giroux,  who  gave 
me  an  account  of  this  second  embrace  with  tears  in  his 
eyes.  '  That  Abbe  is  a  very  good  man,'  said  Giroux  to 
me  ;  '  but  I  do  not  know  why  he  loves  me  so  much. 
He  patted  me  on  the  back,  and  then  embracing  me 
said,  "  Good  bye,  old  man  ;  if  ever  you  need  anything 
write  to  me,  or  to  our  mutual  friend,  my  old  valet." 
He  is  a  good  man,  is  that  Abbe.'  1  remarked  that  his 
friend  was  not  an  Abbe,  but  a  Cardinal.  '  Well !  how 
the  devil  should  I  know  ?  Abbe  or  Cardinal !  the  first 
are  black,  and  the  second  are  red ;  what  does  it  matter 
to  me  ? ' 


246 


HOMEWARD   JOURNEY  FROM  ITALY  TO 
CARLSBAD. 

Extracts  from  Metternich's  private  Letters  to  his  Family,  from 
July  4  to  September  1,  1819. 

327.  Plan  of  the  journey.  328.  Postponement  of  the  journey  of  the  Em- 
peror Francis  to  Milan.  329.  From  Verona — difference  of  climate.  330. 
From  Innspruck.  331.  From  Carlsbad.  332.  From  Teplitz — reminia- 
cences  of  the  year  1813.  333.  Walks  with  Adam  Miiller.  334.  End  of 
the  Carlsbad  Conferences. 

Metternich  to  his  Wife,  Florence,  July  4,  1819. 

327.  I  have  made  my  plan  to-day,  my  dear. 

I  intend  to  leave  here  next  Saturday,  July  10.  I  shall 
be  at  Bologna  on  the  11th,  at  Verona  on  the  12th,  at 
Trente  on  the  13th,  at  Brixen  on  the  14th,  at  Inns- 
pruck on  the  15th,  at  Munich  on  the  16th,  at  Ratis- 
bonne  on  the  17th,  between  Eatisbonne  and  Carlsbad 
on  the  18th. 

The  Emperor  will  arrive  here  on  the  7th.  It  is 
possible  that  my  departure  may  be  delayed  for  one  or 
two  days ;  you  see  that,  even  in  this  case,  I  shall  be  at 
Carlsbad  on  the  20th  or  21st,  at  the  latest. 

328.  July  9. —  .  .  .  The  Emperor  is  right  to 
postpone  his  journey  to  Milan.  The  season  is  over  for 
a  tour  in  Italy,  and  instead  of  being  grilled  for  fifteen 
days  in  Lombardy,*  he  will  return  there  one  day  to 

♦  In  a  communication  from  Metternich  to  the  Emperor  Francis,  from 
Verona,  dated  July  14,  1819,  Metternich  writes,  after  a  consultation  with 
Bubna,  in  these  terms  : — '  Bubna  agrees  with  me  as  to  the  resolution  your 
Majesty  has  taken  to  postpone  your  visit  to  Milan.  Better  no  visit  at  all 
than  one  of  only  a  fortnight.' — Ed. 


VERONA.  247 

spend  two  or  three  months  in  a  manner  more  useful, 
and  also  more  cool.  I  declare  that  Carlsbad  is  a  real 
sacrifice  for  me,  as  the  Emperor  is  going  to  Vienna. 
Nevertheless,  I  ought  to  go,  for  so  many  people  are  ex- 
pecting me  there  that  it  would  be  doing  a  very  bad  turn 
to  these  poor  travellers  to  leave  them  all  in  the  lurch. 
The  affairs  which  I  have  to  arrange  there  are,  besides,  so 
important  that  I  suppress  my  regrets  by  the  feeling  of 
duty.  I  declare,  however,  frankly,  that  Carlsbad  is 
insupportable  to  me. 

329.  Verona,  July  14. — I  arrived  here  yesterday 
about  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  my  dear,  after 
having  suffered  tolerably  from  the  heat. 

I  left  Florence  on  the  11th,  at  nine  o'clock  in  the 
evening.  I  went  as  far  as  Bologna  in  one  stage,  where, 
of  course,  a  cardinal  met  me  with  all  sorts  of  music,  a 
grand  dinner,  &c.  I  went  to  bed  in  the  midst  of  the 
fanfares,  and  slept  six  hours  as  if  it  were  night.  I  left 
Bologna  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  made  my 
triumphal  entry  into  Verona  yesterday,  the  loth,  at  ten 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  When  I  get  back  to  Austria 
there  will  be  a  truce  to  trumpets  and  cymbals.  I  shall 
leave  this  evening,  and  go  in  one  stage  as  far  as  Brixen, 
where  I  shall  sleep  to-morrow,  and  on  the  16th  I  shall 
be  at  Innspruck. 

The  difference  of  climate  is  very  striking  from 
Salerno  to  the  foot  of  the  Alps.  Tuscany  is  the 
hottest  without  being  the  most  southerly  for  vege- 
tation. Different  plants  mark  the  different  regions  : 
aloes  and  cacti  are  found  as  far  as  Terracina,  myrtles 
and  orange-trees  as  far  as  Narni,  olives  and  pome- 
granates as  far  as  the  highest  chain  of  the  Apennines, 
which  separates  Tuscany  from  the  Legations.  From 
the  northern  declivity  of  these  mountains  the  climate  is 


248    EXTRACTS  FROM  METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

much  the  same  as  with  us.  The  mulberries  alone  show 
a  difference  of  climate,  although  they  do  very  well  with 
us.  The  sky  loses  its  brightness  ;  the  Alps  are  covered 
with  thick  clouds  ;  and  the  atmosphere  is  slightly 
foggy. 

330.  Innspruck,  July  16. — I  wish  to  let  you  know, 
my  dear,  that  I  am  in  Germany.  I  made  a  good  and 
rapid  journey  from  Verona  here,  but  my  cava  patrid 
has  received  me  badly.  I  arrived  at  Innspruck  twenty- 
four  hours  after  the  snow.  The  cold  here  makes  one 
shiver,  especially  a  man  who  comes  from  the  Cape  of 
Policastro.  I  hope  Carlsbad  will  treat  me  better ;  I 
shall  at  any  rate  find  hot  water  there.  I,  who,  scarcely  six 
days  ago,  drank  a  large  glass  of  iced  orangeade  every  night 
before  going  to  bed,  will  this  evening  drink  hot  punch 
to  prevent  myself  freezing.  No  more  orange-trees,  but 
firs  ;  no  more  magnolias  in  blossom,  but  elders  ;  no  more 
grapes,  but  strawberries  beginning  to  redden.  I  saw  the 
harvest  at  Naples  two  months  ago,  and  I  have  just  passed 
through  fifty  leagues  of  country  where,  in  the  best  can- 
tons the  fields  are  just  beginning  to  turn  yellow,  and 
where,  in  the  colder  places,  the  summer  crops  are  still  in 
blade.  I  come  from  the  Cenerentola,  and  have  just 
left  Hanns  Dachel.  High  mountains  are  most  beautiful, 
but  I  like  to  see  them  ;  we  shall  be  on  the  level  at 
Innspruck,  but  that  will  make  no  difference  to  the  view, 
there  is  so  much  fog. 

331.  Carlsbad,  July  26. — I  did  not  write  to  you  by 
the  first  courier  whom  I  sent  from  here,  for  I  could  not 
find  a  moment  to  do  so. 

I  leave  to-morrow  for  Tephtz,  where  I  shall  spend 
three  whole  days.  The  present  moment  is  one  of  life 
or  death.     It  appears  that  Teplitz  is  a  place  destined  for 


TEPLITZ.  249 

my  great  operations.*  By  the  help  of  God,  I  hope  to 
defeat  the  German  Eevolution,  even  as  I  have  van- 
quished the  conqueror  of  the  world.  The  German  re- 
volutionists thought  me  far  away,  because  I  was  a 
hundred  leagues  off.  They  have  deceived  themselves  ; 
I  am  in  the  midst  of  them,  and  I  will  now  deal  out  my 
blows.  You  will  observe  a  singular  coincidence  be- 
tween the  discoveries  and  arrests  in  Prussia  and  Ger- 
many and  my  passage  of  the  Alps.  I  suppose  this  will 
be  seen  at  last  when  it  is  known  that  all  Germany  is 
assembled  round  me.  Count  Mlinster  is  here  ;  Eech- 
berg,  Wintzingerode,  Berstett,  Baron  de  Marschall 
(acting  minister  of  Nassau),  and  Bernstorff  (the  Prussian), 
will  be  here  before  August  1.  We  sliall  do  a  great 
work.  Will  it  be  a  good  one.^  God  will  decide. 
It  will  be  great,  for  on  it  will  depend  the  welfare  or  the 
definite  destruction  of  social  order.  This  is  between 
ourselves. 

332.  Teplitz,  July  27. — My  dear,  I  am  writing  to 
you  in  the  same  room,  and  on  the  same  table,  where  I 
signed  the  Quadruple  Alliance  six  years  ago.  It  is  just 
about  the  same  time  of  year.  Everything  has  changed 
since  then,  except  myself. 

I  have  not  revisited  this  place  since  1813.  It  has 
been  a  long  road  to  get  here  again.  What  events  have 
happened  since  the  day  of  my  arrival  here  in  that  year 
of  grace  !  Seated  at  the  same  desk,  thinking  over  all 
which  then  occupied  my  mind,  bringing  before  my 
mind's  eye  what  existed  then,  and  what  exists  no  longer, 
I  cannot  resist  a  slight  sensation  of  vanity,  and  an  im- 
mense feeling  of  contentment  and  satisfaction.  But  if  I 
think  over  what  is,  if  I  compare  it  with  what  ought  to 

*  See  Metternicbs  interview   with   King  Frederick   William   III.   iu 
Teplitz,  No.  351. 


250     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S    PRIVATE    LETTERS. 

be,  and  with  that  which  so  easily  might  have  been,  I 
deplore  the  fate  of  the  world,  ever  given  up  to  the 
gravest  errors,  and  to  great  faults  committed  in  conse- 
quence of  petty  calculations  and  great  illusions.  My 
mind  conceives  nothing  narrow  or  limited  ;  I  always  go, 
on  every  side,  far  beyond  all  that  occupies  the  greater 
number  of  men  of  business ;  I  cover  ground  infinitely 
larger  than  they  can  see  or  wish  to  see.  I  cannot  help 
saying  to  myself  twenty  times  a  day :  '  Good  God,  how 
right  I  am,  and  how  wrong  they  are  !  And  how  easy 
this  reason  is  to  see — it  is  so  clear,  so  simple,  and  so 
natural ! '  I  shall  repeat  this  till  my  last  breath,  and 
the  world  will  go  on  in  its  own  miserable  way  none  the 
less. 

Eeason  and  justice  can  only  be  departed  from  by 
paths  covered  with  blood  and  tears.  To  hear  people 
talk  one  would  think  they  were  giants ;  follow  them, 
and  you  soon  perceive  that  you  have  only  to  do  with 
phantoms.  The  one  giant  produced  by  the  eighteenth 
century  is  no  longer  of  this  world  ;  all  that  moves  that 
world  at  present,  is  of  a  miserable  character.  It  is  very 
difficult  to  play  well  with  bad  or  indifferent  actors. 

333.  Carlsbad,  August  22. — I  have  brought  here, 
for  my  own  private  pleasure,  a  man  of  more  mind  and 
knowledge  than  almost  anyone  in  the  world.  A  certain 
Adam  Muller— not  the  prophet,  but  the  Austrian  Consul- 
General  at  Leipzig.  When  my  head  is  worried  with 
business,  I  make  him  come  ;  he  accompanies  me  to  the 
Posthof,  and  beyond,  and  I  talk  with  him  without  rhyme 
or  reason.  This  morning  he  proved  to  me  that  he  is  the 
most  learned  man  in  the  world  about  clouds.  He  thinks 
that  he  knows  as  much  as  I  know  little  about  them 
He  says  there  are  two  kinds  of  clouds,  male  and  female  : 
that  separated,  they  produce  nothing,  absolutely  nothing, 


CONFERENCE  AT  CARLSBAD,  251 

like  a  monastery  of  Capuchins  separated  from  a  convent 
of  nuns.  These  clouds  end  by  meeting :  they  are  ex- 
cited, they  marry,  and  behold  rain,  thunder,  and  all  the 
noise  in  the  world. 

At  the  first  rain,  say  to  your  neighbour  that  two 
loving  clouds  have  just  been  made  happy ;  you  will 
seem  to  have  said  sometiiing  foohsh,  but  this  is  true 
physics,  and  even  philosophy. 

334.  September  1. — Here  I  am,  thank  God,  de- 
livered of  my  great  work.*  The  labour  passed  off 
happily,  and  the  child  has  come  into  this  world.  I 
have  every  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  the  result,  and  I 
ought  to  be,  for  all  I  wished  has  come  to  pass.  Heaven 
will  protect  an  enterpiise  so  great  and  so  worthy  of  its 
support,  for  it  concerns  the  safety  of  the  world.  What 
thirty  years  of  revolution  could  not  .produce  has  been 
brought  about  by  our  three  weeks'  labour  at  Carlsbad. 
It  is  the  first  time  that  a  number  of  measures  have 
appeared  together  so  anti-revolutionary,  so  just,  and  so 
peremptory.  What  I  have  wished  for  since  1813,  but 
what  that  terrible  Emperor  Alexander  has  always 
prevented,  I  have  accomplished,  because  he  was  not 
there.  I  have  at  last  been  able  to  follow  out  my  own 
thoughts,  and  publicly  declare  all  my  principles,  sus- 
tained as  I  am  by  thirty  milhons  of  men — or  rather  fifty, 
if  we  count  all  the  Austrians  not  Germans.  Now  the 
great  thing  is  to  carry  them  out  well,  and  I  believe  they 
will  be  well  carried  out. 

My  colleagues  have  addressed  such  thanks  to  me 
as  I  believe  no  Minister  has  ever  received. f  Victor  was 
so  touched  that  he  carried  away  the  letter  to  copy  for 

•  See  Results  of  the  Carlsbad  Conference,  No.  353. — Ed. 
t  See  Letters  of  Thanks  iu  No.  355. — Ed. 


252     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICHS   Pl^IVATE   LETTERS. 

you,  and  he  tells  me  lie  sent  it  to  you  yesterday.     Make 
no  use  of  it,  however,  except  to  read  it. 

One  thing  is  certain,  that  there  never  was  seen 
more  exemplary  agreement  and  submission  than  in  our 
conferences.  If  the  Emperor  doubts  his  being  Em- 
peror of  Germany,  he  deceives  himself  greatly. 

A  curious  fact  is  that  the  worst  German  Jacobins 
have  not  dared  to  attack  me.  That  which  they  have 
not  done  they  will  soon  not  be  able  to  do.  I  have 
shown,  moreover,  that  the  best  means  of  attacking  an 
evil  is  to  attack  it  in  front.  This  is  true  of  pohtical 
blows  as  well  as  those  of  a  cudgel.  The  dead  shout  no 
longer,  and  among  the  living  I  shall  have  many  to  shout 
in  favour  of  my  theories.  It  will  yet  take  fifteen  days, 
however,  before  the  shell  explodes  at  Frankfurt. 

I  shall  leave  to-morrow  for  Konigswart,  where  I 
shall  remain  five  or  six  days.  From  thence  I  shall  go 
direct  to  Vienna.  I  intend  to  arrive  there  from  the 
10th  to  the  12th.  You  will  be  informed  of  my  arrival 
at  least  twenty-four  hours  beforehand. 


253 


THE  ASSASSINATION  OF  KOTZEBUE  AND  ITS 
CONSEQUENCES. 

Correspondence  between  Metternich  and  Gentz,  April  1  to  July  1,  1819. 

Gentz  to  3fetternirh,  Vienna,  April  1,  1819. 

335.  Your  Excellency  will,  in  all  probability,  have 
heard  from  Mannheim  the  dreadful  occurrence  which 
has  taken  place  there  more  quickly  than  by  letters 
from  this  place.  We  learnt  the  news  early  yesterday 
through  the  '  Allgemeine  Zeitung  '  and  by  despatches 
from  Carlsruhe  addressed  to  Tettenborn,  of  Avhich  I 
enclose  copies  *  (Nos.  336-337). 

The  thing  is  dreadful  enough  in  itself,  but  its  origin 
and  evident  connection  with  the  great  maladies  and 
dangers  of  the  time  elevate  it  in  the  eyes  of  those 
accustomed  to  take  a  large  and  comprehensive  view  of 
things  to  a  still  higher  degree  of  horror  and  terror. 
When  we  lifted  the  first  warning  voice  against  the 
excesses  at  the  Wartburg  our  mouths  were  stopped 
with  allusions  to  '  the  innocent,  virtuous  efforts  of 
German  youth  '  and  their  '  meritorious  teachers  ; '  and 
this  is  what  they  have  come  to  ! 

Your  Excellency  will  have  already  followed  up  the 
whole  history  of  this  widespread  malady  with  such 
assiduous  attention,  and  appreciated  it  witli  so  much 
intelligence  and  wisdom,  that  it  would  be  quite  super- 

*  *  I  looked  these  through  yesterday  in  haste :  I  now  remark  that  only 
one  of  the  papers  deserves  the  name  of  a  despatch,  the  other  is  a  letter  from 
Varuhagen,  which  I  send  with  it.' — Note  by  Gentz. 


254  GENTZ   TO   METTERXICH. 

fliioiis  here  to  attempt  to  follow  out  the  past,  which  no 
longer  belongs  to  iis.  Empty  lamentations  lead  to 
nothing,  and  all  personal  considerations  must  be  silenced 
when  such  important  concerns  are  in  question.  The 
greatest  catastrophes  in  the  moral  as  in  the  physical 
world  may  be,  not,  indeed,  for  those  who  fall  under 
them,  but  for  others,  useful  and  even  beneficial,  if 
results  are  brought  about  and  measures  accelerated 
which  would  have  been  much  longer  iti  cominsr  into 
operation,  or  would,  perhaps,  never  have  done  so. 

The   practical   reflections   which  this   last   outrage 
have  produced  in  me  are  roughly  as  follows  : — 

1.  The  hatred  of  the  revolutionary  rabble  against 
Kotzebue  was  of  long  standing,  had  many  causes,  and 
was  fostered  with  a  devilish  art.  But  I  am  quite  con- 
vinced that  the  attempt  on  his  life  was  caused  princi- 
pally— indeed,  exclusively — by  the  delusion  that  he 
excited  the  Emperor  Alexander  against  popular  writers 
and  the  universities,  and  made  him  averse  to  liberal 
ideas.  It  is  well  known  how  much  the  whole  party 
had  formerly  reckoned  on  the  support  of  that  monarch  ; 
and  that  his  apostacy  was  a  frightful  blow  to  them  was 
sufficiently  evident.  The  consequence  of  the  senseless 
challenge  to  Stourdza,  which  seemed  to  make  an  end 
of  all  uncertainty,  had  brought  the  party  quite  to 
despair.  Actuated  in  turn  by  rage  and  by  fear,  it 
sank  into  a  state  of  frenzy,  from  which  sprang  this 
crime.  Then,  too,  Kotzebue  was  murdered  because 
these  madmen  in  their  delusion  believed  that  he  had 
caused  the  desertion  of  a  protector  from  whom  they 
had  the  greatest  expectations.  This  view  will  hardly 
escape  the  Emperor  of  Paissia.  He  is  personally  in- 
sulted by  this  crime  against  a  Eussian  Staatsrath,  as 
well  as  by   former  proceedings    against  another.     His 


ASSASSINATION  OF  KOTZEBUE.  255 

attitude  at  the  time  of  the  Wartburg  excesses,  his 
utterances  on  every  opportunity  since  that  time,  the 
principles  and  dispositions  which  he  displayed  at  Aix- 
la-Chapelle,  all  lead  us  to  expect  that  he  will  take 
this  matter  in  the  most  serious  light.  I  do  not  wish 
the  explosion  to  be  too  violent  or  too  loud,  because  it 
might  be  embarrassing  to  us  in  many  ways.  But  I 
should  consider  it  a  happy  thing  if  he  took  this  oppor- 
tunity to  declare  without  reserve  his  own  way  of 
thinking,  seeing,  and  feeling,  and  then  endeavoured  to 
act  upon  Prussia,  Bavaria,  and  Germany  with  prudence 
and  moderation,  but  yet  in  a  very  determined  manner — 
a  manner  calculated  to  put  an  end  to  all  indecision  and 
uncertainty. 

2.  I  hope  that  through  this  dreadful  occurrence  and 
the  consequences  which  must  inevitably  follow  it,  we 
shall  for  some  years  escape  the  debates  on  the  freedom  of 
the  press  in  Germany.  For  I  can  hardly  believe  that 
any  State  of  the  Bund  would  be  shameless  enough 
now  to  expect  the  carrying  out  of  the  freedom  of  the 
press  by  those  Governments  who  have  not  hitherto 
sanctioned  it.  And  it  is  my  firm  conviction  that 
Austria  must  seize  the  first  occasion  when  such  a  word 
is  uttered  in  the  Bundestag  to  declare  emphatically  that 
she  considers  the  article  of  the  Bund  (an  article  never 
to  be  pardoned)  that  speaks  or  dreams  of  uniform 
arrano-ements  in  this  matter — which  concerns  the  duties 
and  rights  of  supremacy  and  sovereignty — once  and  for 
all  impracticable  and  abolished,  and  will  take  no  part 
in  any  discussion  regarding  it. 

3.  The  necessity  of  taking  some  steps  with  regard  to 
the  condition  of  the  German  universities  will  now  be 
more  evident  than  ever.  We  are,  indeed — this  I  feel 
only  too  strongly — still  not  one  step  nearer  the  solution 


256  GENTZ   TO   METTERNICEI. 

of  this  difficult  problem  ;  but  yet  we  have  gained  so 
much  that  no  one  can  now  stigmatise  discussions  on 
this  point  as  high -treason  against  Germany.     But  it  is 
my  most  earnest  desire  that  on  this  important  matter 
nothing  may  be  brought  before  the  Bundestag,  nothing 
publicly  said  or  written  by  authority  (the  lampooners 
may   write  what  they   like),  before    the  first  German 
Courts  (I  mean    only    Austria,    Bavaria,    Saxony,  and 
Hanover,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  others)  have  arrived 
at  a  decided  and  mutually  binding  understanding  on 
the  measures  to  be  adopted.     This  will  cost  much  time 
and  trouble,  but  the  effect  of  the  last  blow  will  not  pass 
away  in  six  months,  and  Kotzebue's  blood  will  cry  for 
vengeance  somewhat  longer  than  to-day  and  to-morrow. 
The  result  is  no  slight  matter,  and  it  is  not  to  be  arrived 
at  in  one  or  two  conferences.     But  the  greatest  evil  of 
all  would  be  hasty,  undigested,  feeble  measures,  which 
must  inevitably  lead  to  mischief.     It  is  a  misfortune 
that,  for  reasons  known  to  your  Excellency,  we  cannot 
in  this  matter  claim  the  first  and  leading  part ;  but  this 
cannot  prevent  us  from  being  active  and  useful. 

The  murder  has  created  no  very  great  sensation 
here.  The  only  man,  to  my  knowledge,  who  has 
spoken  out  well  and  strongly  about  it,  is  Count  Sedl- 
nizky,  who  understands  somewhat  better  than  most 
people  what  we  have  to  expect. 

Some  matters  have  very  much  vexed  and  oppressed 
me.  Anions'  the  latter  I  do  not  count  the  rude  and 
unseemly  speeches  of  Baron  d'Aspre,  because  I  have 
never  expected  anything  better  from  him,  but  they 
annoy  me  because  you  bestow  on  this  man  favour 
which  is  envied  by  many  who  are  more  modest.  I  am 
very  sorry  that  he  is  going  to  Italy ;  for  he  will  talk 
very  foolishly  about  matters  there  too,  and  unless  your 


ASSASSINATION   OF   KOTZEBUE.  257 

Excellency  keeps  a  strong  hand  over  him  he  will  com- 
promise you  frightfully. 

This  letter  will  probably  go  by  Caesar.  Lawrence, 
who  wished  to  leave  three  days  ago,  still  remains,  and 
therefore  cannot  now  be  in  Eome  by  Easter.  The  trees 
begin  to  come  out,  but  a  green  Easter  it  cannot  possibly 
be. 

Freiherr  von  Berstett,  Minister  from  Baden,  to  Freihe7'r 
von  Tettenborn,  Ambassador  from  Baden  to  Vienna. 

(Enclosed  in  No.  335.) 

336.  Your  Excellency  will  be  no  less  dismayed 
than  we  all  are  at  the  following  very  sad  news. 

(Extract  from  the  Directorial  Report  of  the  Neckar  Circle, 

March  23,  1819.) 

'Yesterday  evening  at  five  o'clock  the  Eussian 
Staatsrath  von  Kotzebue  was  mortally  wounded  in  his 
own  house.  Stabbed  in  several  places  with  a  poniard,  he 
died  of  his  wounds  after  giving  his  evidence.  The 
assassin  —  a  man  to  all  appearance  about  four-and- 
twenty  years  of  age — hurried  out  of  the  house  after 
acomplishing  the  deed,  and  in  the  street,  in  front  of  the 
house  door,  he  stabbed  himself  in  the  breast.  At  the 
present  moment  he  is  still  ahve,  but  whether  he  is  still 
conscious  is  not  known  with  certainty.  From  papers  found 
in  his  coat  pocket  it  appears  that  he  is  a  student  in  the 
university,  named  Carl  Friedrich  Sand,  and  was 
studiosus  theologian.  At  the  tavern,  where,  according  to 
the  landlord's  account,  he  had  arrived  that  morning 
alone,  he  had  given  the  name  of  Heinrichs,  a  student 
from  Erlangcn.  From  some  documents  found  upon 
him  it  is  evident  that  he  had  long  premeditated  this 
crime,  and   devoted   himself  to   death.     He  seems    to 

VOL,  III.  S 


258     CORRESPONDENCE   BETWEEN   THE   AMBASSADORS. 

have  bound  himself  to  this,  which  makes  the  crime  the 
more  horrible.  We  expect  in  the  morning  still  more 
exact  circumstantial  evidence,  which  we  shall  not  fail  to 
forward  as  soon  as  possible.' 

The  paper  found  on  the  murderer  was  also  sent, 
and  was  a  proclamation  to  the  Germans,  of  extraor- 
dinary form,  calling  upon  everyone  to  arm,  and  con- 
taining a  number  of  extravagant  and  enthusiastic  ideas 
which  betokened  revolutionary  frenzy.  The  Grand 
Duke  has  given  orders  that  the  strictest  investigation 
should  be  made,  to  find  out  all  traces  connected  with  it, 
in  order  that  these  dangerous  and  fantastic  disorders 
may  be  checked  by  some  comprehensive  measures.  Your 
Excellency  is  implored  to  use  every  effort  to  bring 
forward  all  matters  connected  with  this  insane  con- 
spiracy of  heated  fantasies,  which  thinks  to  find 
Germany's  welfare  in  criminal  acts  ;  and,  above  all,  to 
endeavour  to  bring  about  that  people  should  seriously 
consider  and  comprehend  the  general  measures  the 
necessity  for  which  this  frightful  event  only  too  loudly 
proclaims.  His  Eoyal  Highness  is  much  grieved  that 
this  horrible  deed — although  an  isolated  act,  as  it  cer- 
tainly seems,  and  performed  by  a  student  from  a  foreign 
university — has  taken  place  in  your  country.  I  earnestly 
beg  of  you  to  let  me  know  as  quickly  as  possible  all  that 
you  hear  on  this  matter. 

Varnhagen  von  Ense  to  Tettenborn,  CarUruhe, 
March  24,  1819. 

(Enclosed  in  No.  335.) 

337.  I  hasten  to  give  your  Excellency  the  full 
particulars  of  the  dreadful  occurrence  in  Mannheim, 
which  has  this  day  filled  everyone  herewith  horror  and 


ASSASSINATION   OF  KOTZLBUE.  259 

dismay !    A  yoimg   man,   who    had    called    yesterday 
morning  to  speak  to  Herr  von  Kotzebue,  was  told  to 
return  in  the  afternoon  about  five  o'clock.    Kotzebue  re- 
ceived him  in  a  sitting-room  and  talked  with  him  some 
time,  but  the  man,  approaching  to  give  him  a  paper, 
pulled  out  a  dagger,  and  almost  in  a  moment  the  un- 
fortunate man  fell,  and   in  a  few  minutes  breathed  his 
last.     The   noise  summoned    a   servant,  who   found   his 
master  on  the  floor   and   the  murderer  brandishing  the 
dagger    and    crying  '  Does    anyone  else    here    wish    to 
die  ?  '     Threatening  in   this  way,  he    accomplished  his 
exit,  ran  frantically  up  the  steps,  and  fell  on  his  knees 
at  the  house  door ;  and  while  he  joyfully  thanked  God 
for  the  success  of  his  great  work,  he  stabbed  himself 
twice,  making  himself  unconscious,  which,  however,  did 
not  last,  and  although  he  still  lives  he  is  very  weak,  for 
he  wounded  himself  most  seriously.     This  deed,  said  a 
paper  found  by  his  side,  he  had  done  for  (pretended) 
love  of  Fatherland  and  freedom,  with  full  consciousness 
and  after  long  premeditation  :  he  called  upon  the  hu- 
miliated German  people  to  a  courageous  rising,   to  the 
slaying  of  all  the  evil-disposed,  to  the  perfecting  of  the 
Reformation,  to    the    union  of  Church  and    State,  he 
wished  his   example  to   be  followed,  &c.  &c. — all  in   a 
fantastic,  ranting  style,  foolish   enough,  but  not  mad. 
Another  paper  found   near  him   contained   the  words : 
'  Sentence  of  death  against  August   von  Kotzebue,  ex- 
ecuted  March   23,   at   half-past  five  in  the  afternoon, 
according  to  the  decree  of  the  University  of  .   .   .'  This 
statement  leads  to  the  supposition  that  there   is  some 
conspiracy   and  fraternity,  which   fills   all  hearts  with 
horror  and  fear.    What  can  be  done  against  a  man  who 
kills  himself.^     Shall  the  Order  of  the  Assassins  be  re- 
produced  in  the  West.^      With   us,  in    Germany,  the 

S2 


200      CORRESPONDENCE   BETWEEN   THE   AMBASSADORS. 

tiling  will  make  a  frightful  impression  !  The  murderer 
is  a  studiosus  theologioe  from  Erlangen,  about  four-and- 
twenty  years  old,  named  Carl  Friedrich  Sand  ;  no  one 
knows  his  birthplace,  but  he  is  supposed  to  be  from 
Courland  or  Anspach. 

The  Grand  Duke  is  very  much  shocked  by  this 
event :  he  will  have  it  dealt  with  carefully  as  a  matter 
of  interest  to  all  Governments.  But  I  fear  that  all  in- 
vestigation will  be  fruitless. 

The  Eussian  Emperor  will  be  beside  himself;  but 
what  can  he  do,  with  all  his  power  ?  To  whom  will  he 
turn  ?  All  ministers  and  councillors  will  believe  them- 
selves threatened.  I  would  not  be  Herr  von  Stourdza 
just  now,  nor,  indeed,  many  others  !  I  am  so  affected 
that  I  could  eat  nothing  this  morning,  and  poor  Eachel 
is  beside  herself  with  tears  and  hysterics.  Certainly  it 
is  a  dreadful  affair.  With  great  respect,  I  am,  your 
Excellency,  &c.,  &c., 

Varnhagen  von  Ense. 

Metternich  to  Gentz^  Rome,  April  9,  1819. 

338.  I  have  received  the  news  of  Kotzebue's  assas- 
sination, wdth  all  the  preliminary  details.  It  remains  to 
be  seen  whether  the  Grand  Duke  of  Baden  has  strength 
enough  to  follow  up  the  investigation,  and,  if  he  has  this, 
whether  he  has  people  in  his  courts  of  justice  who  will 
conduct  them  fairly.  Things  are  at  the  present  time  so 
that  no  definite  idea  can  be  formed  beforehand  about 
anything. 

I  have,  for  my  part,  no  doubt  that  the  murderer 
did  not  act  simply  from  motives  of  his  own,  but  in  con- 
sequence of  a  secret  league.  Here  we  find  great  evil 
and  some  good,  for  poor  Kotzebue  now  appears  as  an 
argumentum  ad  hominem  which  even  the  hberal  Duke 


ASSASSINATION   OF  KOTZEBUE.  261 

of  Weimar  cannot  defend.  It  will  be  my  care  to  draw 
from  the  affair  the  best  possible  results,  and  in  this  en- 
deavour I  shall  not  be  found  lukewarm. 

It  appears  to  be  quite  certain  that  the  assassin  was 
an  emissary  of  Behme  of  Jena.  The  university  which 
was  to  carry  out  tlie  plan  may  have  been  chosen  by 
lot,  and  which  of  the  fraternity  was  to  follow  up  the 
deed  by  the  sacrifice  of  his  own  life  may  also  have  been 
chosen  by  lot ;  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  it  was  fol- 
lowed out.     Many  data  go  to  establish  this  view. 

We  shall  now  very  soon  see  what  the  Emperor  of 
Eussia  will  say  to  the  loving  treatment  of  his  Staatsrdth 
in  Germany. 

While  in  Germany  Eussian  agents  fro-pter  ohscura- 
tionem  are  murdered,  in  Italy  the  Eussian  agents  pre- 
side over  the  clubs  of  the  Carbonari.  This  abomination 
will  soon  be  checked. 

Our  residence  here  has  already  had  very  happy 
results.  The  Emperor  will,  as  it  seems,  be  loaded  by 
the  Holy  Father  with  honours  and  all  marks  of  respect. 
His  attitude  and  manner  are  excellent  :  the  public,  who 
received  the  Emperor  with  true  delight,  begin  to  adore 
him  personally.  All  the  foolish  reports  spread  abroad 
by  the  many  who  like  activity  of  that  sort  before  our 
arrival  have  disappeared,  and  people  begin  to  see  that 
here,  as  at  Aix-la-Chapelle,  we  alone  have  not  lied  with 
respect  to  the  object  of  the  journey. 

I  beg  of  you  to  mention  these  assertions,  wliich  rest 
on  simple  fact,  in  Vienna,  and  to  contradict  all  rumours 
to  the  contrary.  Especially  you  may  assure  people 
that  the  Emperor  will  not  bring  one  single  Jesuit  back 
to  Vienna — which  wiU  not  much  deliijlit  the  Penkler 
Society.* 

•  Of  the  '  Penkler  Society '  were  several  men  who  were  intimate  with 


262  METTEr.NICII   TO   GENTZ. 

Eome  is  very  different  from  the  picture  I  had  made 
for  myself  of  the  place.  I  thouglit  Eome  would  be 
ruinous  and  sombre.  Instead  of  this  it  is  splendid  and 
chi^^erful.  Everything  which  shows  the  grandeur  of 
antiquity  is  here  united  with  the  grandeur  of  the  middle 
ages.  The  new  has  two  sides.  The  two  last  Popes — i.  e. 
Pius  YI.  and  Pius  VII. —  have  done  more  for  art  than 
all  their  predecessors  in  the  way  of  discovery  of  the  old. 
Consequently  it  is  impossible  to  imagine  the  splendour 
of  the  galleries  of  the  Vatican.  Think  of  twenty  gal- 
leries like  the  one  Musee  du  Louvre^  and  you  will  still 
be  far  from  the  truth  as  to  the  situation  and  collections 
of  the  Vatican  of  the  present  day.  This  wealth  of 
treasure  far  exceeds  the  idea  I  had  formed.  The  Papal 
residence,  the  Papal  Court,  is  the  most  gorgeous  that 
worldly  power  can  produce.  Tlie  spiritual  grandeur  I 
have  hardly  yet  discovered.  This  remark  applies  even 
to  St.  Peter's.  To  my  mind  it  is  the  most  magnificent 
of  churches  for  splendour  and  size,  but  the  least  spiri- 
tual in  the  world.  Me,  at  least,  it  can  never  invite  to 
pray. 

What  impression  it  makes  on  Schlegel  I  do  not 
know,  for  he  finds  the  Papal  cook  so  excellent  that  he 
has  hardly  any  time  left  to  see  anything. 

The  remains  of  antiquity  are  also  far  beyond  every 
imagination.  All  other  buildings  in  the  world,  in  extent, 
massiveness,  and  perfection,  are  nothing  compared  with 

the  wiiter  of  this  letter,  as  well  as  the  person  to  whom  it  was  addressed — 
Buch  as  Adam  Mii'^er,  Friedrich  von  Schlegel,  Zacharia  Werner,  Josef 
Anton  Pilat,  and  Friedrich  von  Klinkowstrom.  Besides  these  there  were 
also  Zangerle  and  Ziegler  (afterwards  bishops),  Professor  Ackerman,  Dom- 
herr  Schmidt,  Stift,  Dr.  Johann  Emmanuel  Veith,  and  others.  AtKnity  of 
sentiments,  and  similar  aims  in  a  strong  Catholic  direction,  united  all  these 
men  in  a  circle,  the  centre  of  which  was  P.  Clemens  Maria  Hofbauer.  The 
hospitable  bouse  of  Ilerr  von  Penkler  was  open  for  their  social  meetings: 
hence  the  name  of  the  society. — Ed. 


ROME.  263 

the   remains    of  ancient   Rome.     The    Palace    of   the 
Ca3sars,  which  covered  the  whole  Monte  Palatino  (the 
whole  of  the   original  city  of  Rome),  a  palace  as  large 
as  the   city  of  Vienna  within  its  walls  ;  the  Cohseum, 
in  which   80,000  men  could    be    comfortably   seated  ; 
the  Baths  of  Caracalla,  in  wdiich  3,000  could  bathe  in 
separate  rooms,  where  there  are  only  marble  baths,  each 
as   large   as  the  ladies'  baths  at  Baden  ;  the   remains 
of  all  these  places,  in  separate  fragments  each  as  large 
as  ever  a  new  palace,  are  mostly  covered  with  luxu- 
riant vegetation.     This  all  makes  a  sight  of  which  one 
can  form  not  the  least  idea,  let  one  have  seen  what  one 
may  all  the  world  over.     Rome  remains  to-day  among 
the  cities  of  the  old  and  the  new  world  like  Chimborazo 
among  the  mountains. 

And  all  this  splendour  lies  in  a  plain  of  the  most 
glorious  soil  in  the  world  !  In  the  neiglibourhood  of 
Rome — the  so-called  Campagna  di  Roma — is  contained 
the  hardest  problem  to  be  solved  in  the  present  day. 
How  can  this,  under  any  supposition  whatever,  be  once 
more  brought  under  cultivation  ? 

Canals  must  be  dug,  trees  planted,  fields  ploughed, 
and  houses  built.  About  five  years  ago  a  cardinal, 
born  in  the  Legations,  attempted  to  settle  a  colony  of 
300  families  in  the  healthiest  part  of  it,  and  had  them 
well  supplied  with  all  necessaries.  In  two  years  the 
malaria  had  reduced  the  colony  to  twenty  persons.  In 
the  city  three  quarters  are  no  longer  habitable  ;  so 
that  at  present  the  finest  palaces,  such  as  the  Villa 
Borghese,  the  Villa  Albani,  &c.,  &c.,  stand  empty,  for 
to  spend  one  niglit  in  them  is  most  dangerous.  And 
yet  close  by  one  of  these  pest-houses  may  be  one  in 
which  the  air  is  fine  and  wholesome.  The  water  is 
.excellent. 


264  GENTZ   TO   METTERNICH. 

Csesar  arrived  to-day,  and  your  letter  of  April  1 
tells  me  that  you  regard  the  affair  of  Kotzebue  as  I  do. 
Your  remarks  on  the  immediate  motives  for  it  appear 
to  me  quite  correct.  But  just  because  they  are  so  they 
show  that  tliis  horrible  crime  is  not  the  affair  of  a  stu- 
diosus  theologicp.  Sand  was  a  young  student  distin- 
guished at  the  University  of  Erlangen  for  quiet,  good 
behaviour.  In  the  year  1817  he  left  Jena,  and  distin- 
guished himself  at  the  Wartburg.  In  the  year  1818 
he  went  back  to  Erlangen,  and  lectured  for  the  Burschen- 
schaft.  He  was  ravished  with  the  glorious  Lehen  der 
Freien  of  Jena  and  lectured  boldly,  and  then  went  back 
to  Jena. 

I  beg  of  you  earnestly  to  entreat  Tettenborn  to  urge 
his  Government  to  go  thoroughly  into  the  investigation, 
and  not  to  allow  it  to  be  cut  short. 

At  the  same  time  I  beg  of  you  yourself  to  revise  the 
article  which  Pilat  will  have  inserted  from  Eome  in  the 
'  Observer,'  so  that  there  may  not  escape  in  it  any 
capueinades.  My  constant  efforts  are  directed  against 
ultras  of  all  kinds,  till  at  last  I,  too,  shall  be  stabbed  by 
the  dagger  of  some  fool.  But,  if  the  rascal  does  not 
come  behind  me,  he  will  get  such  a  box  on  the  ear  as 
he  will  long  remember,  even  if  he  hits  me. 

Till  then  farewell,  and  pray  continue  to  write  to  me. 

Gentz  to  Metternich^    Vienna,  April  14,  1819. 

339.  Enclosed  you  will  ffnd  the  copy  of  a  letter  I 
have  last  week  received  from  Adam  MuUer.*  I  hear 
that  he  has  wriiten  directly  to  your  Excellency,  but 
since  I  have  no  knowledge  of  anything  which  goes 
through  tlie  Chancery,  I  do  not  know  whether  and  how 

•  Adam  Miiller  was  then  Austrian  Consul-General  at  Leipsic, 


ASSASSINATION   OF  KOTZEBUE.  265 

far  the  letter  to  me  contains  facts  which  are  not  perhaps 
inckided  in  the  Report  to  your  Excellency.  The  cir- 
cumstance of  the  news  of  the  murder  having  arrived 
earlier  in  Leipsic  seems,  on  further  explanations,  not  to 
be  anything  remarkable,  for  it  is  a  fact  that  imme- 
diately after  the  murder  a  courier  was  sent  from  Mann- 
heim to  the  Academic  Senate  at  Jena,  and  returned 
there  on  the  26th. 

I  should  bewail  it  as  a  real  calamity  if  Sand  does  not 
die  of  his  wounds.  His  preservation  can  do  no  good, 
and  may  do  much  harm.  I  do  not  believe,  as  I  have 
already  said,  that  any  further  statement  of  his  will  be 
of  the  least  value.  A  conspiracy  properly  so  called 
certainly  will  not  come  out,  and  the  men  whom  it  would 
be  of  the  greatest  importance  to  convict  would  not  be 
caught.  We  should  be  in  no  Avay  benefited  by  the 
misfortune  which  the  complicity  of  other  young  men 
would  have  brought  upon  this,  and  perhaps  many  other 
honest  families.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  hardly  possible 
to  imagine  what  may  happen  if  Sand  lives.  If  the  stern 
course  of  the  law  is  stopped,  or  it  is  delayed  in  the 
course  of  its  processes  (as  I  have  many  reasons  for 
thinking  possible,  and,  indeed,  quite  certainly  foresee), 
all  the  good  effect  which  might  be  produced  by  so  sad 
an  event  will  be  lost.  If  the  matter  is  taken  up  in 
earnest,  and  the  criminal  punished  with  the  whole 
force  of  the  criminal  law,  it  cannot  but  be,  with  the 
present  general  feeUng,  that  thousands  and  thousands, 
excited  by  a  romantic  enthusiasm  for  him,  will  fancy 
him  a  hero,  a  martyr  to  the  good  cause,  a  victim  of 
obscurantism,  and  become  ten  times  more  violent  and 
culpable  than  they  already  are.  For  these  reasons  I 
shall  thank  God  very  heartily  if  His  hand  cuts  the  knot. 

For  the  rest,  all  German  papers  watch  like  blood- 


2(36  GENTZ   TO   METTERNICH. 

hounds  for  the  first  word  of  the  '  Observer,'  on  this 
unhappy  history.  But  my  conviction  is  decided  and 
immovable  that  the  '  Observer  '  must  keep  silence.  No 
one  can  doubt  our  feeling  on  the  matter.  We  spoke 
when  everyone  else  was  silent.  Our  articles  on  the 
excesses  at  the  Wartburg,  which  are  not  forgotten,  con- 
tain everything  which  can  be  said  on  the  late  event, 
which  is  a  natural  consequence  of  what  before  hap- 
pened. Just  because  it  would  be  so  easy  for  us  at 
present  to  swagger  with  our  warnings  and  wise  sayings, 
it  is  more  noble  and  dignified  to  relinquish  this  easy 
business,  which  has  already  been  partly  assumed  for  us 
by  others.  Besides,  our  silence  will  be  more  imposing 
to  these  miscreants  than  the  most  persuasive  article. 
They  will  undoubtedly  believe  that  there  is  some  secret 
behind — that  we  will  not  speak  because  we  are  deter- 
mined to  act.  And  this — I  will  answer  for  it  to  your 
Excellency  with  life  and  limb — will  terrify  them  much 
more  than  the  most  threatening  words. 

Now  as  to  the  action  required  :  I  do  not  see  any  ne- 
cessity for  your  Excellency's  return  to  Germany.  The 
condition  of  the  German  universities  is  an  illness  which 
calls  for  a  particular  consultation  of  the  physicians,  to 
conduct  which,  time  and  a  conjunction  or  concurrence 
of  fVivourable  circumstances  is  required.  As  soon  as 
I  am  made  in  some  measure  acquainted  with  your  Ex- 
cellency's views  on  this  important  and  critical  affair, 
I  will  endeavour  to  explain  to  you  my  ideas  on  the 
form  of  the  negotiation  itself.  I  see  plainly  that  the 
Bundestag  must  join  in  it ;  but  if  the  Bundestag  is 
left  to  take  the  initiative  and  conduct  the  business, 
without  a  firm,  systematic  course  being  agreed  upon 
beforehand,  I  am  quite  certain  that  no  good  result  will 
be  attained. 


ASSASSINATION    OF   KOTZEBUE.  267 

Muller  to  Gentz,  Leipsic,  April  3,  1819. 

(Enclosed  in  No.  339.) 

340.  •  .  .  With  regard  to  the  Kotzebue  history, 
I  beg  you  not  to  be  led  by  the  Berhn  newspapers  to 
beheve  that  Varnhagen  is  the  author  of  that  despatch. 

In  order  to  see  that  the  coup  comes  from  Jena,  I  beg 
you  to  remark  the  following  circumstances  : — 

The  murder  took  place  on  the  evening  of  the  23rd 
and  was  known  in  Frankfurt  on  the  25tli.  The  news 
would,  in  the  ordinary  way,  only  have  reached  Leipsic 
by  the  first  Frankfurt  post  on  the  29t]i.  Instead  of  this, 
it  had  already  arrived  on  the  27th,  through  two  Jena 
students,  and  that  by  the  roundabout  way  by  Jena. 
On  Saturday  the  28tli,  the  President  of  Police  and 
the  Eector  of  the  University  betook  themselves  to  these 
two  students  to  learn  the  details,  for  no  courier  or  other 
n^ws  had  arrived.  It  is  also  not  to  be  denied  that  the 
murderer  was  known  as  a  fanatical  adherent  of  Professor 
Luden  in  Jena,  and  there  studied  anatomy  for  his  pur- 
pose for  a  fortnight ;  also,  that  immediately  after  the 
reception  of  the  news  of  the  success  of  the  attempt,  the 
Burschenschaft  evidently  broke  up  and  constituted  them- 
selves into  several  fictitious  associations  of  AUeraanns, 
Markomanns,  Suavians,  Vandals,  and  so  on  :  while  on 
March  23  a  portrait  of  Kotzebue,  with  a  dead  bat  fast- 
ened beneath  it,  was  to  be  seen  on  the  black  board  at 
Jena. 

Further,  do  not  imagine  that  this  is  to  be  con- 
sidered merely  as  one  dreadful  specimen  of  the  kmd, 
and  that  the  murderous  band  wiU  allow  themselves  to 
be  intimidated  by  a  few  measures,  and  tliose  half-mea- 
sures such  as  the  present  Government  can  take.     Tlie 


2G8  GENTZ  TO  METTERNICH. 

confusion  of  ideas,  and  the  firmness  in  an  evil  direction, 
are  far  greater  than  you  can  imagine. 

Here,  in  tliis  quiet  place,  you  may  hear  Sand  publicly 
called  a  Scsevola.  The  only  satisfaction  is  that  the  Grand 
Duke  of  Weimar.  Krug,  and  such  hke  people,  are  greatly 
embarrassed.  .  .  . 

Gentz  to  Metternicli,  Vienna^  April  23,  1819. 
(Answer  to  No,  338.) 

341.  Your  Excellency's  kind  letter  of  the  0th  inst. 
has  delighted  and  relieved  me,  and  I  thank  you  heartily 
that,  surrounded  as  you  are  by  so  many  interesting 
objects,  which  certainly  claim  all  your  time,  you  were 
able  to  send  me  so  much  interesting  information. 

Tlie  reasons  which  your  Excellency  points  out  for 
attributing  the  assassination  of  Kotzebue  to  a  regular, 
perhaps  wide-spread,  plot,  have  certainly  some  weight, 
and  I  wish  that  nothing  may  be  omitted  which  can 
serve  to  clear  up  tliis  point.  But  still  I  do  not  give  up 
my  opinion  about  it.  The  most  important  points  on 
which  it  depends  we  have  long  discovered  antl  known. 
That  our  academic  youth  have  arrived  at  this  degree  of 
criminal  madness  is  known  to  us,  and  we  need  no  further 
explanation  about  it.  We  must  act  on  the  root  of  the 
evil ;  the  ramifications  are  unimportant  affairs,  and  can 
at  most  lighten  the  labour  of  the  arm  which  must  lay  the 
axe  to  the  wild  stem  itself — its  true  strength  must  be 
in  itself. 

Your  Excellency  will  notice  what  trouble  the  news- 
paper writers  are  taking  to  describe  Sand  as  a  highly- 
interesting  youth.  They  may  be  right  for  what  I  know. 
I  myself  do  not  believe  that  Sand  was  a  mere  miscreant ; 
but  all  the  worse  for  those  who  could  push  on  a  spirit 


ASSASSINATION   OF   KOTZEEUE.  269 

good  and  noble  in  itself,  to  go  beyond  the  worst  of  cri- 
minals !  The  real  culprits  are,  and  will  ever  be,  Fries, 
Luden,  Oken,  Kieser,  and  others  of  the  same  kind,  of 
whom  the  universities  must  be  purified  at  any  price 
before  any  reformatory  measures  can  have  the  slightest 
effect. 

Metternich  to  Geiitz,  Borne,  April  23,  1819. 

342,  I  have  now  given  the  necessary  instructions 
to  Count  Buol  with  regard  to  the  regulation  of  the 
affairs  of  the  German  universities.  The  last  proposal  of 
the  Duke  of  Weimar  appeared  to  me  a  good  ground  to 
act  upon,  and  if  you  will  look  at  my  instructions,  I 
hope  for  your  approval.  I  have  used  really  liberal 
words  to  set  a  limit  to  ultra-hberalism,  and  it  belongs 
to  my  fortune — to  which  you  have  so  often  contri- 
buted— that  I  can  raise  my  edifice  on  the  soil  of  Weimar 
and  ornament  it  with  the  example  of  the  worthy  Sand, 
at  the  cost  of  poor  Kotzebue.  For  your  comfort  let 
me  tell  you  that  no  Spiegelish  *  work  has  gone  to 
Frankfurt,  that  not  one  Spietjelish  idea  obtains  with 
me,  and  that '  Christ '  f  whom  I  have  found  here,  thinks 
my  proposals  practical,  and  highly  approves  of  them. 

It  is  one  of  the  strange  facts  of  my  life  that  here  in 
Eome  I  have  been  called  to  work  for  hours  toccether 
about  the  German  universities,  and  from  all  the  Cabinets 
of  Germany  letters  have  arrived  containing  the  most 
urgent  requests  that  I  would  make  an  end  of  the  dis- 
order wliich  each  German  prince  provoked  and  en- 
couraged in  his  own  country,  and  is  now  no  longer  able 
to  restrain.     An   example  of  the  kind  must  really  be 

*  Count  Spiepel  was  Ilofrath  at  the  Chancellery,  and  entrusted  -with 
the  Report  on  German  affairs. — Ed. 

t  The  identity  of  this  person,  then  in  Rome,  cannot  he  ascertained. — Ed, 


270  METTERNICH  TO  GENTZ. 

sufficient  to  excite  in  every  sensible  man  the  greatest 
contempt  for  the  character  of  many  of  these  Go- 
vernments. 

My  people  are  so  overwhelmed  with  work  that  I  do 
not  know  whether  I  sliall  be  able  to  send  you  a  copy 
of  my  ostensible  and  of  my  secret  instructions  to  Count 
Buol  by  the  present  courier :  in  any  case  you  shall 
have  them  by  the  next ;  but,  without  waiting  for  them, 
let  notliing  hinder  you  from  letting  me  know  your 
views. 

My  proposals  are  confined  to  the  discipline  of  the 
universities,  and  do  not  at  all  touch  the  studies  them- 
selves—two questions  which  are  very  closely  related, 
but  yet  in  the  present  discussion  necessarily  separated. 
If  we  meddle  with  tlie  latter,  nothing  at  all  will  be  done, 
and  a  letter  from  Mliller  sufficiently  points  this  out  to 
me,  in  which  in  speaking  of  this  affair  he  observes 
'  that  the  disorder  in  the  universities  proceeds  from  the 
Eeformation  and  that  it  can  only  be  really  set  right  by 
the  recall  of  the  Eeformation.'  I  deny  neither  the  as- 
sertion nor  its  justice.  But  here  on  the  Quirinal  I 
cannot  meddle  with  Dr.  Martin  Luther,  and  I  hope  that 
nevertheless  some  good  will  come  of  it  without  even 
touching  its  source— Protestantism.  The  last  very  ex- 
cellent letter  of  Muller's  reminded  me  involuntarily  of 
Golowkin's  proposition  for  the  investigation  of  '  Causes 
primitives  de  la  revolution  franqaise.' 

Our  stay  in  Eome  is  coming  to  an  end.  It  has  been 
as  splendid  as  safe  and  useful.  The  Emperor  is  greatly 
pleased  with  the  Pope  :  not  only  that  no  single  dangerous 
points  happened  to  be  mentioned  by  the  latter,  but  the 
Emperor  (whose  principles  in  canonical  respects  are 
unquestionable)  said  to  me  yesterday,  on  leaving  his 
Hohness  after  a  visit  of  two  hours,  '  that  he  was  sorry 


ROME.  271 

the  Pope  could  not  be  his  own  first  archbishop,  for  he 
would  certainly  never  find  one  better  quahfied  to  oppose 
the  exorbitant  pretensions  of  the  Eoman  Curia.'  So 
among  other  things  the  Pope  assured  the  Emperor  that 
the  fundamental  defect  of  the  Institution  of  the  Jesuits 
was  their  pretension  of  independence  of  the  bishops,  an 
assertion  contrary  to  every  true  idea  of  ecclesiastical 
discipline,  and  which  could  only  lead  to  disorder  with- 
out measure !  Our  clerical  Chateaubriands  would,  if 
they  knew  this,  certainly  be  alienated  from  the  poor  old 
excellent  Pius  :  wherefore  keep  this  saying  by  all  means 
to  yourself,  for  entre  deux  the  Chateaubriands  are  much 
dearer  to  me  than  the  Benjamin  Constants  and  Lan- 
juinais.  The  sacred  via  media  is  only  reserved  for  a 
i  few,  and  since  on  it  truth  stands,  truth  is  but  little 
■  known. 

My  ideas  of  the  splendour  of  Eome  are  every  day 
surpassed.  One  sees  here  of  what  man  at  his  highest  is 
capable  ;  and  if  I  hate  the  old  Eomans  as  thorough 
Bonapartists,  yet  I  must  give  them  heartfelt  thanks  for 
the  grandeur  which  they  had  strength  and  sense  to  leave 
behind  them  for  posterity. 

As  a  botanist  you  would  find  here  the  greatest 
delight.  What  glorious  plants  !  The  flowers  here  bear 
the  same  relation  to  ours  that  Eome  as  a  city  bears  to 
Vienna.  I  am  bringing  a  great  many  with  me,  and  I 
will  send  you  some  beautiful  seeds. 

Gentz  to  Metternich,  Vien7ia,  April  25,  1819. 

343.  I  must  on  every  opportunity  come  back  to 
the  Weimar  declaration  as  among  the  most  important 
documents  of  our  time.  One  of  the  chief  authors  and 
protectors  of  all  the  mischief  in  Germany — eight  days 


272  GENTZ   TO   METTERNICH. 

after  a  crime  that  called  on  him  and  his  ministers  for 
vengeance — -was  pleased  to  intimate  to  the  German 
Bund  through  his  ambassador,  that '  Freedom  of  thought 
and  teaching  must  remain  at  the  Universities  ;  for  there, 
in  the  open  conflict  of  opinions  shall  truth  be  found 
by  the  students ;  tliere  shall  the  scholar  be  preserved 
from  devotion  to  authorities,  and  there  shall  he  be  raised 
(not  educated)  to  independence.'  So  far  have  the  great 
and  mighty  of  this  earth  gone  that  they  can  swallow 
such  childish  stuff" !  And  not  a  voice,  not  a  sound, 
raised  in  the  assembly  !  And  we — oh  !  that  I  too  must 
again  renew  this  infaiidum  dolorem  ! — we  must  still  bear 
the  ignominious  honour  that,  shortly  before  these  objec- 
tionable words  (the  quintessence  of  all  revolutionary 
teaching)  from  the  opening  speech  at  tlie  Bundestag,  we 
were  called  to  a  position,  extolled  by  the  criminal  prin- 
ciples, not  of  Freiherr  von  Hendrich,  but  of  the  univer- 
sities, as  a  proud  memorial  of  German  superiority  against 
the  unrighteous  judgment  of  foreigners. 

As  none  of  the  ministers  at  the  Bundestag  were 
inspired  or  vigorous  enough  there  and  then  to  tell 
the  Plenipotentiary  of  the  Duke  (or,  as  some  one  wittily 
called  him,  the  Ober-Burschen)  of  Weimar  the  horror 
which  such  teaching,  at  such  a  moment,  must  call  forth, 
I  am  myself  again  convinced  that  the  time  is  not  ripe 
for  great  and  comprehensive  measures.  But  for  this 
reason  I  fear  more  than  anything  formal  and  public 
consultations  on  these  important  questions.  When  I 
consider  how  far  one  must  go  back,  how  deep  one  must 
cut  into  the  wounded  flesh,  thoroughly  to  check  the 
evil,  it  seems  to  me  quite  madness  to  believe  that  in 
any  court  like  the  Bundestag — indeed,  even  in  a  congress 
of  the  first  German  princes — such  harmony,  insight, 
courage,  and  determination  (and  none  of  these  should 


UNIVERSITY   REFORMS.  273 

be  wanting)  should  be  found  as  will  secure,  not  merely 
good,  but  victorious  results.  Now,  in  a  malady  of  so 
evil  a  character,  nothing  can  be  more  injurious  than 
unsuccessful  or  half-successful — that  is,  half-unsuccessful 
— attempts.  I  am  quite  convinced  that  in  revolutionary 
times  the  whole  authority  may  more  easily  be  re-con- 
quered than  the  half.  Half-results  are  in  such  crises 
worse  even  than  none.  One  often  sees,  too,  that  when 
the  truly  efficacious,  the  decisive,  is  not  attainable, 
wisdom  enjoins  that  the  appearance  be  quietly  and 
patiently  maintained,  of  only  commanding  what  is  most 
pressing  and  immediately  practicable,  while  keeping  the 
true  end  of  all  efforts  constantly  in  view,  for  by  true 
zeal  and  untiring  perseverance  the  moment  will  at  last 
come  when  a  decisive  blow  may  extricate  us  from  all 
difficulties. 

But  I  understand  by  half-measures,  in  the  present 
question,  everything  which  attempts  a  reform  of  the 
discipline  of  the  university  without  touching  the  person- 
ality of  the  teacher  and  the  students,  and  without  acting 
directly  on  the  spirit  which  animates  the  whole  institu- 
tion. Such  (to  my  mind)  are  all  attempts  to  limit  or 
remove  the  academic  jurisdiction ;  every  setting  up  of 
a  police  authority  foreign  to  it,  be  it  high  or  low ; 
every  mixture  of  authority  in  the  systems  and  methods 
of  teaching ;  every  regulation  prohibiting  the  young 
people  from  associations,  unions,  &c.,  even  if  public  and 
harmless ;  and,  in  fact,  every  alteration  in  the  material 
organisation  of  the  universities.  To  pass  such  measures 
the  Bundestag  would  certainly  be  competent ;  but  if  at 
last,  after  a  thousand  difficulties  and  oppositions,  we 
succeeded,  what  would  be  gained  ?  Those  who  had 
taken  an  active  part  would  be  decried  as  enemies  of 
academic   freedom    in  Germany,  branded,  proscribed, 

VOL.  III.  T 


274  GENTZ   TO   METTERNICH. 

and  outlawed.  The  rebellious  principles  (the  banish- 
ment of  all  authority,  the  independence  of  individual 
judgment,  the  free  conflict  of  opinions,  and  everything 
proclaimed  by  the  Weimar  declaration)  would  still  con- 
tinue ;  they  would  soon  rise  in  a  different  form,  stronger 
than  before,  and  mock  at  all  organised  laws ;  the 
spirit  which  has  seized  the  university,  not  weakened  or 
even  restrained,  but  rather  encouraged  by  feeble  op- 
position, would  become  only  more  frightful  and  mis- 
chievous. 

So  long,  then,  as  we  are  not  strong  enough  to  declare 
open  war  against  the  principles  from  which  the  acade- 
mical as  well  as  other  dangers  arose,  and  to  treat  the 
abuses  of  the  universities  as  only  the  necessary  com- 
panions of  greater  disorders,  every  legislative  proceed- 
ino-  exclusively  directed  to  the  universities  will  remain 
weak  and  fruitless :  and  in  this  state  of  things  it  would 
be  v^ser  quite  to  draw  away  from  them  and  take  only 
such  provisional  steps  as  without  any  great  alteration  of 
the  outward  form  should  act  simply  on  the  personality 
of  the  teacher  and  the  students. 

Adam  Miiller,  who,  to  my  no  small  satisfaction  (for 
his  opinion  is  of  weight),  without  any  collusion  with  me 
indeed,  with  the  fear  that  I  might  take  it  quite  other- 
wise  considers   the   matter  from   the   same   point   of 

view,  even  protests  against  all  legislative  measures  and 
proposes  two  expedients  as  follows  : — 

1.  The  nomination  of  a  curator  for  each  university 
in  the  person  of  a  distinguished  (N.B.  decorated)  man 
of  the  world,  if  not  learned,  yet  not  unacquainted  with 
literature,  of  kindly  and  pleasant  manners,  who  would 
be  answerable  for  the  whole  university,  and  consequently 
must  reside  in  the  district.  Could  not  eight  or  ten 
such  men  be  found  in  Germany  who  would  undertake 


UNIVERSITY   REFORMS.  275 

such  an  honourable  office,  the  more  honourable  at 
present  because  of  its  difficulties  ;  and  if  it  required 
sufficient  or  even  handsome  salaries,  what  State  expen- 
diture could  be  more  beneficial  and  honourable  than 
this? 

2.  A  purification  of  the  professorial  chairs  without 
noise  or  passion,  especially  by  the  appointment  of 
objectionable  professors  to  other  civil  positions  where 
they  can  do  no  harm.  The  ringleaders  are  known : 
their  number  is  not  large ;  if  they  can  be  dismissed 
quietly  and  their  places  filled  with  peaceable,  refined 
men  of  learning  (as  for  talent,  there  is  not  one  in  any 
class  who  could  not  be  replaced  by  a  far  better  man), 
an  extremely  important  step  towards  the  reform  of  the 
universities  will  have  been  taken. 

These  two  measures  require  no  formal  negotiations, 
they  can  only  be  quietly  arranged  between  Prussia, 
Saxony,  Hanover,  Bavaria,  and  Baden ;  and,  in  short, 
they  would  have  the  blessing  of  all  well-disposed  people. 
Jena  must  be  set  in  order  when  all  the  others  are  ar- 
ranged. The  Grand  Duke  must  (as  the  smallest  penalty 
for  his  former  transgressions)  from  the  first  be  neither 
asked  nor  admitted  to  the  consultations,  least  of  all,  as 
is  now  the  case  at  Frankfurt,  must  he  take  the  lead.  He 
must  agree  to  what  the  other  Courts  decide ;  and  at  the 
worst  we  will  set  the  Emperor  of  Russia  upon  him,  or 
put  Jena,  as  a  university,  under  a  formal  and  general 
interdict. 

By  these  preliminary  steps  I  do  not,  however,  mean 
to  set  aside  the  usefulness,  or,  indeed,  the  necessity  of  a 
thorough  discussion  of  the  great  problem  between  the 
principal  German  Governments.  But  if  such  a  discus- 
sion does  take  place  (and  it  should  be  as  secret  as 
possible),  it  should  above  all  be  considered  that  questions 

T  2 


276  GENTZ  TO  METTERNICH. 

concerning  the  universities  should  not  be  handled  alone 
— that  they  should  not  be  separated  from  the  ques- 
tions concerning  the  freedom  of  the  press  or  consti- 
tution. How  far  the  latter  must  be  decided  I  cannot 
here  enter  upon,  as  it  would  lead  me  too  far,  but  I  re- 
serve to  myself  to  make  further  remarks  on  that  sub- 
ject. 

My  resume  would  then  be  : — 

1.  At  first  no  common  lej^islative  negotiation  either 
in  Frankfurt  or  elsewhere. 

2.  Confidential  discussion  of  the  most  urgent  pre- 
liminary measures  with  the  exception  of  all  those 
that  touch  on  the  material  organisation  of  the  univer- 
sities. 

3.  Conferences  between  delegates  of  the  principal 
German  Courts,  in  which  everything  relating  to  the 
universities,  the  freedom  of  the  press,  and  even  the 
arrangement  of  the  statutes,  should  be  as  far  as  possible 
thoroughly  discussed.  If  these  conferences  had  no 
other  result,  they  would  certainly  be  a  most  valuable 
means  of  mutual  understanding,  explanation,  and  in- 
struction. 

In  this  plan  no  part  is  assigned  to  the  Frankfurt 
Gremium.  Since  I  positively  know  of  nothing  useful 
which  these  gentlemen  could  undertake,  but  much  more 
probably  foresee  from  their  proceedings  in  Frankfurt  in- 
calculable injury,  difficulty  and  danger,  I  cannot  pos- 
sibly propose  anything  of  the  kind. 

My  proposal  ad  2  might  perhaps  be  carried  out 
most  easily  and  quickly  this  summer  in  Carlsbad  ;  and 
perhaps  simply  correspondence,  if  preferred,  might  be 
sufficient. 

No.  3,  on  the  contrary,  is  of  greater  importance — re- 
quires time,  quiet,  and  much  consideration.     If  such 


UNIVERSITY   REFORMS.  277 

conferences  are  decided  on,  they  must  of  course  be  at 
Vienna,  and  not  be  opened  before  next  winter. 

Postscript  of  April  27. 

I  have  received  your  Excellency's  letter  from  .  .  .  .* 
about  an  hour  ago,  just  as  I  was  about  to  send  off  the 
above.  What  you  say  makes  me  fear  that  you  will  not 
be  quite  satisfied  with  my  proposals  ;  however,  as  I  do 
not  know  the  communications  you  have  addressed  to 
the  Court,  it  is  possible  that  they  may  not  be  altogether 
incompatible.  At  any  rate,  in  such  an  important  affair 
your  Excellency  shall  have  my  views  as  clearly  as  pos- 
sible :  and,  grieved  as  I  am  in  other  respects  to  be  away 
from  you  at  this  moment,  I  am  glad  to  have  written  down 
my  thoughts  before  I  was  acquainted  with  yours,  be- 
cause it  will  be  easier  to  me  to  submit  to  your  better 
insight  and  conviction  than  to  surrender  my  own. 

Pilat  has  received  a  letter  like  the  one  I  lately 
had ;  and  I  hear  that  the  Crown  Prince,  too,  has  re- 
ceived an  anonymous  threatening  letter.  Pilat  was 
called  an  infamous  wretch,  fit  for  nothing  but  death,  if 
he  did  not  leave  off  disseminating  hie  evil  principles. 
The  letter  to  me  may  have  been  a  bad  sort  of  April- 
fooHng  ;  but  when  the  same  thing  is  repeated,  it  wears  a 
more  serious  aspect. 

Metternich  to  Gentz,  Naples,  May  7,  1819. 
(Answer  to  No.  343.) 

344.  From  your  letters  of  April  25  and  27,  I  hope 
that  we  shall  be  agreed  about  the  university  affairs. 

I  have  told  you  long  ago  that  I  did  not  think  the 
Bundestag  suitable  to  conduct  this  business.     There  is, 

*  The  date  is  not  given :  protably  an  answer  to  No.  342. — Ed. 


278  METTER^JICH  TO  GENTZ. 

however,  no  other  central  point,  and  when  you  know 
(as  1  do  only  too  well)  how  feeble  the  German 
Governments  are,  you  will  certainly  see  that  nothing 
can  come  of  private  consultations,  and  now  every  Ger- 
man Prince,  even  if  (like  Bavaria)  he  dislikes  the  Bund, 
will  find  in  the  Bund  the  strength  which  he  lacked  in 
himself  to  favour  similar  arrangements. 

Time  there  is  none  to  lose,  for  the  Governments  are 
now  so  terrified  that  they  are  willing  to  act ;  soon  their 
fears  will  be  overcome  by  their  weakness.  If  nothing 
is  done  now,  the  strength  of  the  agitators  will  be 
doubled,  and  their  courage  will  extinguish  the  last 
spark  of  the  courage  of  the  Governments.  My  previous 
communications  will  have  informed  you  that  I  hmited 
the  question  for  Frankfurt  to  some  necessary  prelimi- 
nary propositions. 

I  have  adopted  Miiller's  views  and  made  some  addi- 
tions, which  certainly  are  not  less  important.  Among 
these  are  the  improvement  of  university  law  and  the 
decision  that  obnoxious  professors  must  not  be  placed 
in  other  universities. 

In  taking  as  I  do  the  Weimar  proposal  for  my  start- 
ing point,  I  think  I  do  well.  With  contempt  we  shall 
never  fight  the  old  fellow  there.  He  is  accustomed  to 
it.  His  mad  views,  on  the  contrary,  will  make  a  fine  ex- 
hibition, and  it  seems  to  me  far  better  to  catch  him  on 
his  own  ground  or  give  him  the  lie. 

I  have  not  forgotten  the  Emperor  of  Eussia.  I  have 
to-day  given  Stiirmer  the  commission  to  write  a  letter  to 
him — and  send  it  to  Count  Nesselrode  by  one  of  his  own 
couriers- — which  will  show  you  that  I  can  handle  the  Em- 
peror quite  suitably  without  committing  any  mistake  in 
respect  to  German  politics. 

I  shall  remain  in  Carlsbad   certainly  till  the  middle 


FEELING   IN   ITALY.  279 

of  July.  I  do  not  know  whether  you  still  think  of  your 
journey  to  Switzerland.  The  time  does  not  seem  to  me 
very  well  chosen.  But  ■  I  should  be  very  glad  if  you 
could  join  me  at  Carlsbad.  I  desire  this  the  more  as  I 
appoint  a  Prussian  here,  and  other  Germans  may  very 
likely  come. 

People  are  asking  me  from  all  directions  about  a 
conspii'acy  against  the  Emperor  in  Italy.  If  such  a 
report  should  come  to  your  ears  you  may  be  assured 
that  it  is  a  wicked  invention  of  the  party.  Italy  is 
quite  quiet.  Events  in  France,  and  the  Constitu- 
tional farce  in  Germany  excite  the  hopes  of  the  parties, 
which,  however,  in  Italy  never  express  themselves 
except  in  secret  societies.  But  so  long  as  no  great 
poHtical  event  takes  place  in  Europe,  no  movement  of 
any  kind  is  to  be  expected  in  Italy.  Amongst  the 
Neapolitans,  in  particular,  there  is  great  satisfaction 
with  the  course  of  the  Government,  and  since  it  is  dif- 
ferent from  its  former  course,  this  reacts  advantageously 
upon  us,  for  the  public  believes  that  we  have  something 
to  do  with  the  attitude  of  the  King — and  the  public  is 
right. 

If  Eussian  agents  did  not  go  about  in  Italy  and 
encourage  the  sects  to  hopes  founded  on  the  liberalism 
of  the  Emperor  Alexander,  there  would  be  hardly  any 
active  agitation  in  the  minds  of  the  people.  In  Italy 
they  have  got  over  their  former  dissatisfaction.  Italians 
talk  loud,  but  do  not  act.  The  history  of  the  last 
thirty  years  is  an  example  of  this,  for  during  that  time, 
in  spite  of  all  intrigues,  Italy  was  never  revolutionised, 
properly  speaking.  With  Italians  hatred  never  ex- 
presses itself  against  a  cause,  but  only  against  a  person. 
Therefore,  in  Italy  provinces  are  against  provinces, 
towns  aijainst  towns,  families  aj^ainst  families,  and — men 


280  GENTZ   TO   METTERNICH. 

against  men.  If  a  movement  broke  out  in  Florence, 
tlie  Pisan  or  Pistoian  would  take  the  contrary  side, 
because  he  hates  Florence ;  thus  Naples  hates  Eome, 
Eome   Bologna,  Leghorn   Ancona,    Milan   Venice. 

I  hope,  however,  soon  to  make  an  end  of  Eussian 
intrigues.  I  have  taken  some  very  peremptory  steps  in 
this  respect. 

Meanwhile,  farewell. 

Gentz  to  Metier  nick,  Vienna,  May  21,  1819. 
(Answer  to  No.  344.) 

345.  I  received  your  Excellency's  kind  letter  of 
the  7th  instant  yesterday  evening,  and,  heartily  as  I 
wish  you  all  pleasure  at  Naples,  I  am  delighted  that 
when  this  reaches  you  your  Excellency  will  already  be 
on  the  return  journey  to  Germany. 

As  your  Excellency  does  full  justice  to  my  reasons 
against  negotiating  the  university  affairs  at  tlie 
Bundestag,  all  further  lamentations  on  the  course 
chosen  are  useless.  The  argument  which  you  oppose 
to  my  reasons  is  indeed  crushing,  but  also  striking 
and  decisive.  If  the  German  Courts  are  so  weak 
that  nothing  effectual  can  be  done  by  private  consul- 
tation with  them  (and  that  they  are  so,  unhappily,  I 
can  believe  without  much  difficulty),  certainly  nothing 
remains  but  to  make  an  attempt  in  Frankfurt.  .  .  . 

On  the  point  of  taking  the  Weimar  proposal  as  a 
foundation  I  cannot  satisfy  myself,  in  spite  of  your 
Excellency's  most  acute  explanation  of  the  matter. 

Count  Sedlnitzky  has  given  me  the  acts  relating  to 
the  students'  affairs.  They  consist  of  a  sketch  of  a 
general  Constitution  for  the  students  (Bur.sc]ie72verfas- 
sung),  a  protocol  of  the  assembled  delegates  at  Jena  in 


UNIVERSITY   REFORMS.  281 

March  and  April  1818,  and  an  address  with  reference  to 
this  protocol  to  all  the  sister  universities  ;  lastly,  a  copy 
uf  the  statutes  for  the  general  German  Burschenschaft, 
corrected  from  the  sketch,  October  18,  1818,  at  Jena. 
It  would  not  be  possible  to  have  these  documents 
printed  without  commentary,  even  if  it  were  to  be  done 
privately.  But  I  would  not  undertake  so  important  an 
affair — in  which  there  is  no  periculum  in  mora — in  your 
Excellency's  absence.  Moreover,  the  whole  Burschen- 
schaft is  in  itself — without  any  regard  to  tlie  abuses  to 
which  it  has  led,  and  may  still  further  lead — an  insti- 
tution so  thoroughly  objectionable,  and  so  dangerous 
and  criminal  its  aims,  that  no  stone  of  it  should  be 
left  upon  another,  and  if  the  universities  are  to  be  re- 
tained, it  must  be  forbidden  under  the  severest  penalties. 
This  I  will  demonstrate  at  the  proper  time  with  the 
greatest  clearness. 

If  I  may  hope  that  it  will  be  in  any  way  useful  or 
agreeable  to  your  Excellency  I  am  quite  ready  to  give 
up  my  journey  into  Switzerland  for  this  year,  and  to 
take  up  my  quarters  in  Carlsbad.   .  .  . 

Gentz  to  3Ietteniich,  Vienna,  June  3,  1819. 

346.  I  send  your  Excellency  a  copy  of  a  letter 
from  MUller,  and  take  the  hberty  of  accompanying  it 
with  the  following  remarks  : — 

1.  From  what  Miiller  says  of  many  proselytes  to  the 
revolutionary  sects,*  of  their  uncertain  and  doubtful 
position,  and  of  the  indifference  of  the  public,  and  even 
of  the  young  men,  to  their  writings,  it  is  evident  how 
much  can  be  accomplished  if  only  forty  or  fifty  of  the 
most  dangerous  men  in  Germany  are  carefully  watched, 

*  Adam   Miiller,  in  his  letter,  speaks  of  Fries,  Wieland,  Oken,  and 
Froriep. — Ed. 


282  GENTZ   TO  METTERNICH. 

and  rendered  harmless,  either  by  direct  alterations  in 
their  positions,  or  by  winning  them  over  by  hope,  or 
frightening  them  by  a  display  of  power — by  fighting 
them,  in  fact,  in  a  dexterous  manner.  This  would  be 
one  of  the  most  serviceable  diplomatic  performances  of 
our  time.  But  to  this  end  we  ought  to  have  at  a  central 
point  like  Frankfurt  one  of  the  most  important  men 
for  the  cause.  And  where  shall  we  find  such  a  one  ? 
And  what  ostensible  sphere  of  action  shall  we  give 
him? 

2.  Certainly  the  transition  of  so  many — particularly 
80  many  young  people — from  political  fanaticism  to 
religious  mysticism  is  very  remarkable.*  I  do  not 
consider  this  an  advantage.  The  fact  calls  for  the 
greatest  attention.  The  malady  evidently  takes  a  new 
form,  and  the  medicine  must  be  different.  Here,  indeed, 
we  go  beyond  the  last  limit  of  police  measures,  and  if 
we  do  not  find  means  to  work  on  the  mind,  and  lay 
hold  of  the  evil  by  its  deepest  roots,  we  are  at  the  end 
of  our  art.  A  close  connection,  a  true  coalition  of  the 
noblest  and  wisest  men  in  Germany,  a  living  Bund^  an 
actively  dehberative  and  actively  working  society  of 
the  first  statesmen  and  learned  men,  can  alone  solve  so 
great  a  problem. 

3.  The  papers  which  have  appeared  about  Kotze- 
bue's  assassination  cannot  possibly  make  any  impression, 

*  Adam  Miiller  mentions,  in  corroboration  of  this,  that  in  Halle  students 
were  every  day  leavmg  the  other  faculties  and  going  over  to  the  theology 
lectures,  and  the  good  old  Knape  did  not  know  what  to  do  for  the  crowd. 
In  Halle  the  Mtjstiktrs  drew  all  the  applause,  and  the  well-known  Schubert, 
a  kindred  spirit,  established  his  lecture-room  there.  The  physician  Win- 
dischmaun  opened  his  Cursus  at  Bonn,  before  all  the  professors,  with  a 
speech,  in  which,  after  a  series  of  obscure  natural  philosophical  expositions 
of  the  history  of  the  time,  he  concluded  with  the  declaration  that  only  in 
the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ  could  peace  be  found  for  the  conscience  and 
for  knowledge. — Ed. 


wiaTERS  ON  kotzebue's  assassination.       283 

because  they  deserve  little  or  no  respect.  Krug  is  a 
mere  common  babbler,  without  vigour  or  strength,  wlio 
is  hardly  fit  to  keep  a  tobacconist's  shop.  Gorres,  after 
the  old  accustomed  manner,  with  hollow  threats  and 
dark  prophecies,  only  gives  it  to  be  understood  that  in 
every  misfortune  the  Governments  alone  are  guilty,  and 
neither  gives  the  grounds  of  the  accusation  nor  speaks 
it  out  clearly.  I  consider  his  writings  not  merely  bad, 
but  in  the  highest  degree  objectionable  and  culpable. 
Beckedorf's  speech  to  the  students  is  animated  by  a 
good  spirit ;  it  is,  however,  too  much  like  a  sermon,  and 
for  an  oratorical  attempt  not  well  enough  written.  La 
Motte  Fouque  cuts  antics  in  doggrel  like  a  rope-dancer : 
a  fool,  whose  hour  has  long  passed.  StefFens  alone  has 
risen  to  the  level  of  the  subject.  He  is  known  to  be  a 
natural  philosopher  deeply  entangled  in  all  the  false 
tendencies  of  the  time.  Anything  thoroughly  correct 
is  not  to  be  expected  from  him,  and  Satan,  to  whom  he 
has  sold  liimself,  often  peeps  out.  His  judgment  on 
the  deed  is  thoroughly  clear,  straightforward,  and  excel- 
lent, and  contrasts  finely  with  all  the  indirect  apologies, 
soft  infatuations,  and  underhand  sophisms  glaring,  to  the 
shame  of  Germany,  in  all  the  pubUc  papers.  Stefiens 
is  a  man  whom  the  revolutionary  party  fears,  because 
it  confesses  his  superiority,  and  Miiller  is  wrong  if  he 
thinks  that  his  word  will  not  have  much  weight. 

4.  The  story  of  the  3,000  copies  of  the  Gravel 
book  is  quite  correct,  and  certainly  gains  grievous  ridi- 
cule for  our  public,*  but  the  connection  of  the  thing 
must  be  known  in  order  to  see  how  it  looks.  Tliis 
pamphlet,    published  by    Gerold,   is    patronised    most 

*  Adam  Miiller  wrote  on  this  :  *'  The  great  story  in  the  bookselling  world, 
a  real  scandal  for  Vienna  and  Austria,  is  that  3,000  copies  were  sold,  in 
Austria  only,  of  the  notorious  pamphlet  "  Der  Menseh  von  Gravel.'''' ' — Ed. 


284  METTERNICH  TO  GENTZ. 

zealously  (God  knows  why)  by  the  different  officials 
of  the  poHce-courts,  sent  into  all  the  provinces,  and 
disseminated  as  much  as  possible  both  openly  and  se- 
cretly. It  seems  to  me  that  Count  Saurau  must  be  at 
the  bottom  of  it.  The  favour  of  it  goes  so  far  that  a 
short  review  of  it  in  the  '  Observer,'  in  which  Pilat 
found  fault  with  some  coarse  deistical  errors  of  the 
wretched  scribbler,  was  suppressed  by  the  police  officials. 
For  me,  however,  the  history  has  an  important  and  re- 
assuring side.  It  shows  what  can  be  accomplished 
with  us  by  authority,  if  it  takes  up  a  cause  earnestly 
and  con  amove. 

The  deep  silence  of  the  Emperor  of  Eussia  on  the 
attempts  against  Stourdza  and  Kotzebue  has  a  most 
peculiar  appearance.  I  cannot  say  that  I  grieve  over 
it  very  much,  for  he  would  not  have  mended  matters 
much  if  he  had  taken  the  right  Hne,  and  there  were  a 
hundred  chances  to  one  that  he  should  miss  it.  But 
how  this  silence  will  be  explained  excites  my  curiosity 
to  the  highest  degree,  and  if  your  Excellency  knows 
anything  you  can  communicate  to  me,  I  beg  of  you  to 
have  the  kindness  to  remember  me.      , 

Metternich  to  Gentz,  Rome,  June  6,  1819. 

347.  The  Commission  is  opened  in  Frankfurt,  and 
I  have  letters  of  thanks  from  all  sides  for  having  taken 
the  initiative. 

I  beg  you  to  understand  the  founding  of  our  pro- 
posal on  the  Weimar  memorial  only  in  the  sense  in 
which  I  myself  put  it — namely,  not  as  if  the  Weimar 
propositions  were  the  immediate  object  of  the  delibe- 
rations. This  is  not  so  :  but  the  Weimar  move  served 
us  as  the  immediate   occasion  on  which  a   conference 


FEARS   OF   THE   LIBERALS.  285 

miglit  be  grounded.  Imagine  a  wood  where  a  captured 
robber  calls  for  help.  I  hasten  up  to  him,  not  to  help 
him  to  get  away,  but  to  hold  him  as  fast  as  possible. 

The  Weimar  clique  is  besides  in  great  anxiety.  Jena 
begins  to  grow  empty,  and  the  college  funds  dull.  The 
enrages  exclaim  against  the  unanswerable  step  of  the 
Grand  Duke,  and  call  him  a  counseller  to  the  good 
cause.  Why  should  we  not  follow  up  this  theme?  We 
cannot,  at  least,  be  accused  of  Obscurantism  if  we,  instead 
of  speaking  from  our  own  grounds,  take  up  the  cry  of 
distress  of  the  Liberal  Grand  Duke.  But  with  these 
first  steps  the  part  of  the  Grand  Duke  concludes,  for  we 
all  renounce  his  help. 

I  see,  too,  with  a  real  feeling  of  anxiety  for  my 
earlier  arrival  in  Carlsbad,  that  I  am  here  too  far  from 
the  battle-field.  Between  July  16  and  20  I  shall 
certainly  be  on  the  spot.  Take  your  own  measures 
accordingly. 

I  hope  that  you  have  not  for  a  moment  believed  in 
my  journey  to  Paris  which  all  the  newspapers  have 
blazoned  forth. 

The  Liberals  have  raised  a  great  hue  and  cry  over 
the  Archduke  Eudolf  s  dignity  of  Cardinal.  The  Itahan 
Independents  rejoice  over  the  cause,  for  they  believe 
the  Archduke  will  become  Pope,  take  a  wife,  and  call 
himself  King  of  Italy.  I  see  in  the  affair  a  red  hat 
and  a  pair  of  red  stockings,  as  well  as  the  proof  of  good 
political  relations  between  the  first  Catholic  Power  and 
the  Church. 

You  may  take  my  word  for  it  that  our  Italian  tour 
has  in  every  respect  answered  the  expectations  I  had 
formed. 

P.S. — Tell  Pilat  that  there  is  a  terrible  eruption  of 
Etna,  and  that  Catania  is  threatened  with  great  danger. 


286  METTERNICH  TO  GENTZ. 

Vesuvius,  too,  has  an  enormous  stream  of  lava  runmn<T 
in  the  direction  of  Pompeii.  I  am  very  sorry  not  to  be 
there.  A  considerable  earthquake  has  been  felt  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Yiterbo.  As  Pilat  is  the  only  re- 
porter of  earthquakes,  this  information  will  be  welcome. 
The  Emperor  has  put  offhis  journey  till  the  11th  be- 
cause the  Archduchess  Caroline  is  slightly  unwell.  I 
shall  follow  the  Emperor  on  the  12th. 

Gentz  to  Metternich,  Vienna,  June  17, 1819. 

(Answer  to  No.  347.) 

348.  I  see  with  great  pleasure,  from  your  kind 
letter  of  the  6th  inst.,  that  you  have  not  given  up  the 
journey  to  Carlsbad,  as  some  sceptics  here  wished  to 
make  out,  and  that  you  even  give  it  a  certain  import- 
ance. Your  residence  in  Carlsbad  may  certainly  do 
good  and  will  at  any  rate  furnish  material  for  observa- 
tions and  combinations  w4iich  will  not  be  lost  to  your 
fertile  intellect.     My  lodgings  are  taken  from  July  15. 

I  look  forward  with  impatience  to  the  time  when  I 
shall  draw  anew  from  so  rich  a  source,  correcting  and 
confirming  my  views  afresh,  and  I  hope  your  Excellency 
will  have  the  kindness  to  inform  me  further  of  your 
travelling  plans. 

Metternich  to  Gentz,  Perugia,  June  17,  1819. 
(Answer  to  No.  346.) 

349.  I  thank  you  for  your  very  interesting  account 
of  the  3rd  inst.  I  entirely  share  the  views  of  Adam 
Midler,  and  in  sharing  them  I  find  myself  strengthened 
in  the  course  I  have  taken.  That  the  students'  folly 
declines  or  turns  to  some  other  side  than  that  of  politics 
does  not  surprise  me.     This  is  in  the  nature  of  tilings. 


PROFESSORS   AND   STUDENTS.  287 

The  student,  taken  in  himself,  is  a  child,  and  the 
Burschenschaft  is  an  unpractical  puppet-show.  Then,  I 
have  never — and  of  this  you  are  a  witness — spoken  of  the 
students,  but  all  my  aim  has  been  directed  at  the  pro- 
fessors. Now,  the  professors,  singly  or  united,  are  most 
unsuited  to  be  conspirators.  People  only  conspire  pro- 
fitably against  things,  not  against  theories.  The  last, 
indeed,  may  grow  to  power,  but  this  can  never  be 
the  case  if  they  leave  the  sphere  of  theology.  Where 
they  are  political,  they  must  be  supported  by  deed,  and 
the  deed  is  the  overthrow  of  existing  institutions,  and 
the  otez-vous  de  la  que  je  my  mette.  Tliis  is  what 
learned  men  and  professors  cannot  manage,  and  the 
class  of  lawyers  is  better  suited  to  carry  it  on.  I  know 
hardly  one  learned  man  who  knows  the  value  of  pro- 
perty ;  while,  on  the  contrary,  the  lawyer  class  is  always 
rummaging  about  in  the  property  of  others.  Besides, 
the  professors  are,  nearly  without  exception,  given  up 
to  theory  ;  while  no  people  are  more  practical  than  the 
lawyers. 

Consequently,  I  have  never  feared  that  the  revolu- 
tion would  be  engendered  by  the  universities  ;  but  that 
at  them  a  whole  generation  of  revolutionaries  must  be 
formed,  unless  the  evil  is  restrained,  seems  to  me  cer- 
tain. I  hope  that  the  most  mischievous  symptoms  of 
the  evil  at  the  universities  may  be  met,  and  that  per- 
haps from  its  own  peculiar  sources,  for  the  measures  of 
the  Government  will  contribute  to  this  less  than  the 
weariness  of  the  students,  the  weakness  of  the  profes- 
sors, and  the  different  direction  which  the  studies  may 
take.  But  this  feeling  will  never  restrain  me  from 
taking  steps  from  above  ;  and,  indeed,  what  seem  to  me 
the  only  possible  measures  are  taken. 

If  we  are  together  I  can  give  you  many  satisfactory 


288  METTERNICH  TO  GENTZ. 

explanations  of  the  course  of  the  business,  which  at  a 
distance  I  could  not  communicate  to  you  without  an 
enormous  correspondence,  and  even  then  must  remain 
futile  and  imperfect. 

The  greatest  and  consequently  the  most  urgent  evil 
now  is  the  press.  The  measures  referring  to  it  which 
I  intend  to  brinj^  forward  at  the  Carlsbad  Congress  I 
will  tell  you  all  the  more  gladly  as  I  wish  you  to  give 
me  your  opinion  on  my  ideas  without  reserve,  and  put 
yourself  in  a  position  to  help  me  effectually  in  Carlsbad, 
where  the  business  must  begin  without  delay. 

My  proposals  are,  briefly,  the  following : — All  the 
German  Courts  shall  unite  in  measures  which  seem  ne- 
cessary for  the  maintenance  of  the  public  peace,  and 
from  a  full  sense  of  the  right  of  mutual  support  which 
is  the  foundation  of  the  German  Bund. 

They  here  start  from  the  fundamental  idea  of  the 
Bund,  which  consists  of  Germany  and  the  Sovereign 
States,  that  have  agreed  mutually  to  support  and  help 
each  other,  and  which,  while  they  are  separate  in  ad- 
ministrative respects,  form  one  common  power  against 
foreign  countries. 

The  inward  peace  of  the  Bund  may  be  endangered 
and  even  destroyed  by  one  of  the  German  States  attack- 
ing the  sovereign  power  of  the  others.  But  this  can  also 
be  done  by  the  moral  action  of  the  Government  on 
others,  or  through  the  intrigues  even  of  a  party.  If  this 
party  should  be  supported  by  a  German  State — or  only 
find  protection  in  one  of  them — if  with  tliis  protection 
it  finds  means  to  rest  its  lever  against  neighbouring 
States  on  a  neighbouring  State,  then  the  inner  peace  of 
the  Bund  is  threatened,  and  the  Prince  who  allows  this 
disorder  in  his  country  is  guilty  of  felony  against  the 
Bund. 


THE   PRESS.  289 

All  tlie  German  Governments  have  arrived  at  the 
conviction  that,  at  the  present  time,  the  press  serves  a 
party  antagonistic  to  all  existing  Governments.  The  na- 
tionalities spread  over  all  Germany  make  it  impossible 
for  single  States  to  guard  their  frontiers  from  this  evil; 
if  this  is  the  fact  for  single  Governments,  it  will  be  no 
less  so  for  all  German  Governments  if  but  one  German 
State — let  it  be  even  the  smallest  amon<jf  them — shut 
itself  out  from  the  acceptance  of  common  measures  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  general  peace. 

The  Bund  has  the  right  of  calling  upon  every  single 
member  to  fulfill  the  common  duties.  In  case  that 
member  is  not  found  ready  of  himself,  the  Bund  has  the 
right  of  compelling  him. 

From  the  constitution  of  the  Bund  it  also  arises  that 
everything  that  is  possible  to  independent  sovereigns  and 
European  States  is  not  possible  to  the  sovereign  States 
of  the  German  Bund. 

For  instance,  France  and  England  certainly  can  per- 
mit the  freedom  of  the  press,  and  even  assert  the  prin- 
ciple that  this  freedom  is  an  indispensable  condition  of 
the  real  representative  system. 

In  France  and  Eni^land  laws  can  be  made  which 
confine  the  abuse  of  the  press  in  relation  to  the  con- 
stitution of  those  two  kingdoms. 

I  doubt,  however,  whether  either  of  those  States 
would  consider  it  a  fundamental  idea  of  the  freedom  of 
the  press  to  tolerate  all  works  which  are  systematically 
concocted  and  disseminated  in  one  of  the  States,  even  to 
the  generation  of  rebellion,  by  a  party  that  is  undermining 
the  existing  institutions  of  the  other  State.  In  this  case 
the  English  Government  would  certainly  complain  to 
the  French  (and  vice  versd)  of  the  toleration  of  foreign 
instigators  of  rebellion  ;  and  if  the  Government  conv 
VOL.  HI.  U 


290  METTERNICH   TO   GENTZ. 

plained  to  did  not  render  its  assistance,  the  Government 
complaining  has  the  undoubted  right  to  declare  war, 
and  so  obtain  help  and  redress,  or  at  tlie  least  to  stop 
all  intercourse  between  the  two  States. 

These  remedies,  grounded  on  the  rights  of  peoples,  are 
not  practicable  in  Germany.  What  can  be  done  among 
European  Powers  in  this  respect  by  repression,  must  be 
accomphshed  in  the  German  Bund  by  preventive  laws. 

In  these  propositions  there  is  no  Obscurantism,  and 
therefore  they  are  not  to  be  assailed  as  such.  Even 
the  instigators  of  rebellion,  indeed,  feel  this,  and  will 
not  object  to  them.  They  may  decry  such  a  state  of 
things  as  a  great  evil  for  Germany,  and  express  a  wish 
for  the  only  alternative  known  to  me — the  union  of  all 
Germany  in  one  whole,  undivided  body.  This  wish  has 
already  become  the  fundamental  principle  of  the  frater- 
nisation of  practical  German  revolutionists. 

Since,  however,  this  can  only  be  fulfilled  by  a  single 
German  monarchy,  or  one  German  free  State,  it  is  to  be 
supposed  that  no  German  Government  will  be  found, 
from  German  feeling,  to  submit  to  be  chased  from 
Court  and  home — an  inevitable  condition  to  be  expected 
by  the  victim  to  the  love  of  carrying  out  that  idea. 

The  means  to  this  end  seem  to  me  to  be  the  fol- 
lowing : — • 

1.  There  must  be  a  settled  difference  made  between 
books  (real  works),  and  journals  and  pamphlets. 

Scientific  matter  characterises  the  former,  and,  where 
this  is  not  evident,  the  number  of  sheets.  Thus,  for 
instance,  I  take  for  granted  that  a  Dissertation  on  Tri- 
gonometry consisting  of  three  or  four  sheets  might  be 
reckoned  as  a  work ;  while  a  political  work,  to  be 
reckoned  as  such,  must  contain  at  least  five-and-twenty 
sheets. 


CENSORSHIP   OF   THE   PRESS.  1591 

Periodicity  and  the  political  or  moral  subject-matter 
decides  their  character. 

2.  It  is  reserved  to  every  German  State  to  decide 
whether  they  will  have  a  censorship  of  all  literary  pro- 
ductions Avhich  appear  w^ithin  their  hmits,  or  whether 
they  will  pass  repressive  laws. 

In  the  second  case  the  law  must  be  for  the  whole 
Bund  one  and  the  same  law :  that  is,  every  State  which 
permits  the  freedom  of  the  press  for  works  must  accept 
the  law  which  the  Bund  has  passed  for  all  States  in  the 
same  position. 

3.  All  journals,  pamphlets,  &c.,  &c.,  in  Germany 
must  be  under  a  censorship. 

4.  Where  freedom  of  the  press  for  works  is  per- 
mitted, the  local  Government  {Landesregierimg)  must 
through  their  public  prosecutor  carry  on  the  suit  which 
any  other  German  Government  may  bring  in  a  diplo- 
matic way  against  either  the  author  or  pubHsher.  This 
suit  must  be  instituted  and  carried  on  in  the  name  of 
the  local  Government,  and  the  subject  of  complaint 
must  be  considered  and  treated  by  it  as  affecting  that 
Government  itself. 

In  the  same  way  every  German  Government  must 
be  responsible  for  its  own  censorship.  Every  complaint 
against  the  latter  must  be  considered  as  a  complaint  of 
Government  acrainst  Government. 

5.  The  usual  regulations  as  to  the  printing  of  the 
author's  name,  or  at  least  the  place  where  the  work  is 
printed,  and  the  pubhsher's  name,  must  everywhere  be 
observed. 

Xo  publication  can  be  allowed  at  any  bookseller's  in 
Germany  except  under  these  conditions.  Every  anony- 
mous writing  in  the  Bund  falls  under  confiscation. 

These  are  my  principal  ideas,  and  I  hardly  think 

u  2 


292  GENTZ  TO   METTERNICH. 

that  any  reasonable  objection  can  be  made  to  tliem.  I 
deplore,  indeed,  that  the  censorship  cannot  be  instituted 
for  all  writings  without  exception.  But  I  am  convinced 
that  in  many  German  States  great  opposition  would 
be  made  if  it  were  apphed  to  true  works.  The  most 
pressing  evil  is,  however,  certainly  met  by  a  firm  ad- 
ministration of  my  proposals,  and  I  doubt  not  that  they 
will  be  accepted  by  the  majority  of  eminent  men.  The 
most  important  German  States — as,  for  instance,  Prussia 
and  Bavaria,  Saxony  and  Hanover,  even  Baden — have  to 
make  no  backward  step  in  principle,  for  they  all  have 
either  a  general  censorship  or  at  the  least  a  censorsliip 
of  the  journals.  In  Bavaria  the  latter  is  even  consti- 
tutional :  the  Government,  too,  from  its  incomprehen- 
sible toleration,  is  more  culpable  than  any  other. 

Postscript. — I  beg  your  indulgence  if  in  my  letter  you 
find  some  undigested  expressions.  I  have  much  to  do, 
and  I  hope  that  in  reading,  and  still  more  in  estimating, 
my  ideas  on  the  laws  respecting  the  licence  of  the  press, 
you  will  hold  more  by  the  spirit  than  the  words  ;  but  I 
submit  both  to  your  better  knowledge  and  experience. 

Gentz  to  Metternich^  July  1,  1819. 
(Answer  to  No.  349.) 

350.  Your  Excellency  can  easily  imagine  what  an 
impression  your  letter  from  Perugia  has  made  on  me. 
My  spirits  rise  and  all  dark  troubles  seem  to  fly,  when, 
at  so  grave  a  moment,  I  see  the  only  man  in  Germany 
who  can  still  act  freely  and  firmly  treat  not  only  prin- 
ciples and  feelings  but  resolutions  from  so  lofty  a  level. 

I  have  thought  over  with  great  attention  your  Ex- 
cellency's resolutions  concerning  the  limitation  of  the 
piess  in  Germany.     If  these  proposals  are  carried  out. 


CENSORSfflP  OF  THE  PRESS.  293 

certainly  much  will  be  gained.  I  set  no  great  value  on 
the  censorship  of  the  greater  works  ;  1  shall  be  extremely 
delighted  if  all  the  German  Governments  will  consent  to 
the  censorship  of  the  journals,  in  which,  however,  I 
would  propose  some  different  modifications,  or  rather 
supplementary  measures,  without  which  the  censorship 
itself  degenerates  into  mere  empty  tomfoolery. 

But  I  expect  great  opposition  to  the  censorship  of  the 
iournals  from  Wurtemberg,  Weimar,  and  other  quarters. 
The  point  is  whether  the  dangerous  question  of  the  right 
of  the  majority  to  pass  such  a  measure  may  not  be  mooted. 
But  I  reckon  confidently  on  the  steps  your  Excellency 
has  already  taken,  and  cliiefly  on  the  ascendancy  which 
cannot  be  denied  to  your  Excellency  when  once  you 
declare  yourself  with  decision  and  energy. 

I  will,  to  approach  the  matter  more  in  detail,  en- 
deavour to  express  and  arrange  your  Excellency's  pro- 
positions as  clearly  and  methodically  as  possible.  Where 
it  seems  to  me  that  explanatory  remarks  would  be 
useful,  I  will  carefully  add  them.  In  a  word,  I  will 
bring  with  me  to  Carlsbad  a  work  on  the  subject 
formed  entirely  on  the  groundwork  of  your  proposals, 
which  perhaps  may  serve  as  a  guide  for  verbal  con- 
ference, and  of  which  you  can  take  or  reject  what 
seems  to  your  Excellency  useful  or  not. 

Where  this  letter  will  find  your  Excellency  I  do  not 
know,  but  I  believe  already  in  Germany.  I  think,  how- 
ever, that  I  shall  have  a  hint  from  some  one  or  other 
before  your  arrival  in  Carlsbad.  In  any  case,  I  shall 
start  from  here  on  the  15th,  for  I  shall  then  (in  the 
usual  way)  take  live  or  six  days  for  the  journey,  so  that 
I  shall  not  arrive  there  before  the  20th.  But  neither 
do  I  expect  your  Excellency  to  arrive  before  that  date. 

Postscript. — I  perceive  with  the  greatest  satisfaction 


294  GENTZ  TO  METTEENICH. 

that  your  Excellency  is  enjoying  the  best  health  and 
spirits.  A  good  stock  of  both  was  seldom  more  neces- 
sary than  now.  The  present  crisis  taxes  all  our  powers 
to  the  utmost,  and  it  is  a  question  of  nothing  less  than 
the  prevention  of  the  probable  disruption  of  the  united 
German  Confederation — therefore,  of  one  of  the  most 
dreadful  European  revolutions.  In  the  last  four  weeks 
the  symptoms  have  taken  from  one  day  to  another  so 
malignant  a  character  that  I  fear  heroic  means  alone — 
even  amputation  in  a  certain  sense — can  save  the  parts 
not  yet  attacked. 

I  knew  not  whether  to  laugh  or  cry  when  this 
morning  a  very  worthy  tradesman  said  to  me  that,  till 
now  he  had  always  thought  that  in  Germany  too  much 
was  made  of  events,  but  now  he  no  longer  doubted  that 
the  danger  is  great  and  pressing. 

Durate^  et  vosmet  rebus  servate  secundis*  is  the  prayer 
which  I  make  to  Heaven  daily  for  your  Excellency. 

•  Virg.  ^n.  i.  207. 


295 


METTERXICirS  MEETING    WITH  KING  FREDERICK 
WILLIAM  III.  AT  TEPLITZ. 

Pi-eliminaries  to  the  Carlsbad  Conferences. 

351.  Metternich  to  the  Emperor  Francis,  July  30,  1819. 
.  352.  Metternich  to  the  Emperor  Francis,  August  1,  1819. 

351.  I  arrived  here  tlie  day  before  yesterday  in  the 
evening.  Immediately  after  my  arrival,  the  King  of 
Prussia  sent  word  that  he  would  receive  me  at  home 
the  next  morning.  This  circumstance  was  only  re- 
markable because  since  his  arrival  here  the  King  had 
received  no  one  at  home — all,  even  his  own  official 
audiences  had  been  held  in  the  Clary  Gardens.  Prince 
von  Hardenberg  arrived  here  from  Berlin  a  few  hours 
after  me. 

Early  yesterday  I  went  to  the  King,  who  received 
me  in  a  most  friendly  manner,  enquired  particularly 
after  your  Majesty's  health,  and  then  said  :  '  You  come 
here  to  see  me  at  a  most  important  moment.  Six  years 
ago  we  had  to  fight  the  enemy  in  the  open  field  :  now 
he  sneaks  and  hides.  You  know  that  I  have  great 
confidence  in  your  views  ;  you  have  long  warned  me, 
and  all  you  have  said  has  come  true.' 

I  answered  his  Majesty  that,  knowing  your  Majesty's 
feelings,  I  could  assure  him  (the  King)  that  every  truth 
I  had  before  told  him,  and  especially  at  Aix-la-Chapelle, 
was  quite  as  evident  to  your  Majesty  as  to  me.  I  added 
that  he  must  be  already  aware  of  your  Majesty's  prompt 
decision  in  virtue  of  which  you  had  without  regard  to 


296      PRELIMINARIES   TO   THE  ^^APXSBAB   CONFERENCES. 

the  interests  of  the  Lombardo-Venetian  provinces  given 
up  that  journey.  Your  Majesty  is  accustomed  always 
to  do  that  which  is  most  pressing,  and  the  state  of  things 
in  Germany  fixes  your  whole  attention  in  the  double 
respect  of  the  common  weal  of  the  German  States  and 
that  of  your  own  empire.  The  Emperor  is,  said  I,  con- 
vinced that  the  evil  has  reached  such  a  height  in  Ger- 
many that  the  day  has  arrived  for  the  decision  between 
the  principle  of  preservation  or  entire  submission — 
consequently,  of  political  death.  How  the  Emperor 
thinks  for  Prussia  he  has  shown :  that  he  will  grant 
your  Majesty  help  if  you  help  yourself  there  is  not  the 
least  doubt.  But  the  Emperor  has,  above  all,  very  great 
and  very  difficult  duties  as  a  ruler  :  with  united  strength 
he  may  strive  to  dam  up  the  impetuous  stream,  but 
alone  he  will  never  risk  the  danger  of  shipwreck.  In 
order  to  help,  the  Emperor  must  first  see  clearly.  He 
must  know  what  Governments  there  are  worth  the  name 
to  carry  out  his  plan.  Prussia,  too,  is  not  exempted  from 
taking  part  in  this.  But  though  the  King  is  there,  we 
do  not  find  the  kingly  power ;  if  the  King  leaves  a  free 
course  to  the  evil  which  threatens  his  throne  and — as 
the  examination  of  the  conspirators  shows — even  his 
person,  the  Emperor  must  withdraw,  and  for  his  own 
benefit  take  a  line  very  different  from  the  one  he  is  to- 
day pursuing. 

'  You  know,'  answered  the  King,  '  that  no  one  has  a 
better  will  tlian  I  have.  But  my  position  is  very  dif- 
ficult, for  I  lack  men.  The  possible,  however,  must  be 
done,  and  therefore  I  depend  upon  you  to  help  me  to 
come  to  an  agreement  on  a  certain  definite  course.' 

I  answered  the  King  that  it  would  be  no  more  than 
my  duty  by  investigation  of  the  evil  and  by  careful  con- 
sideration to  discover  the  means  of  safety :  that,  how- 


KING   FREDERICK   WILLIAM   III.  297 

ever,  such  a  difference  existed  between  the  determina- 
tion and  the  execution  of  beneficial  measures,  and  that  I 
was  so  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  internal  state  of 
the  Prussian  Government,  that  I  must  freely  confess  I 
cherish  but  small  hopes  of  bringing  the  affair  to  success. 
'  I  can  speak  freely  to  your  Majesty,'  I  added,  '  for  you 
have  always  taken  it  in  good  part.  I  will  do  so  now, 
as  I  did  once  before  when  your  Majesty  invited  me  to 
do  so.  Either  the  counsel  which  your  Majesty  receives 
is  not  good  or  it  is  badly  carried  out.  The  discovered 
conspiracy  is  nothing  but  the  action  which  always  fol- 
lows the  teaching.  Tins  conspiracy  has  its  origin  and 
its  abode  in  Prussia  ;  the  subordinate  conspirators  are 
now  known,  the  superiors  are  still  undiscovered,  but 
they  are  without  doubt  to  be  found  in  the  highest 
region  of  your  own  servants.  Your  Majesty  knows  what 
I  think  of  the  State  Chancellor.  He  has  rendered  your 
Majesty  priceless  services,  but  he  is  now  old  and  feeble 
both  in  mind  and  body.  He  desires  what  is  right,  and 
only  too  frequently  supports  what  is  bad.' 

'  You  are  aware,'  answered  the  King,  '  that  I  know 
Prince  Hardenberg  thoroughly  ;  his  misfortune  is  the 
men  who  are  about  him,  among  whom  are  some  very 
strano;e  characters.' 

'Why  does  your  Majesty  tolerate  these  men?  Why 
have  you  allowed  bad  and  dangerous  institutions  so 
much  latitude  ?  ' 

'  You  are  quite  right,'  replied  the  King,  '  but  it  is 
always  thus  when  people  get  old.  My  desire  is  that 
now,  whilst  you  are  here,  principles  should  be  established 
which  then  must  be  most  strictly  carried  out.  I  wish 
that  you  should  settle  this  absolutely  with  the  State 
Chancellor.' 

'  The  whole  thing  is  restricted  to  one  point,'  I  an- 


298      PRELDUN ARIES   TO   THE   CARLSBAD   CONFERENCES. 

swered.  '  If  your  Majesty  is  determined  not  to  intro- 
duce any  representation  of  the  people  into  your  kingdom 
(which  is  less  fitted  for  it  than  any  other)  help  will  be 
forthcoming,  otherwise  there  is  no  possibility  of  assist- 
ance. You  can  fulfil  your  promise  in  meaning,  if,  indeed, 
you  had  promised  the  very  opposite;  the  present  time 
is  entirely  different  from  the  past.  I  am  ready  to  impart 
my  views  to  the  State  Chancellor,  but  I  beg  your  Ma- 
jesty also  to  nominate  Count  Bernstorff  and  Prince  Witt- 
genstein to  this  conference.' 

'  I  had  intended  to  do  so,'  said  the  King,  '  and  I  beg 
you  to  try  and  bind  these  people  in  writing  ;  you  can 
thoroughly  rely  upon  Prince  Wittgenstein.' 

I  have  laid  before  your  Majesty  the  principal  points 
in  a  long  conversation,  in  order  to  give  your  Majesty 
the  plainest  possible  illustration  of  the  position  of  the 
King,  and  of  the  administration  in  its  highest  sphere. 
Where  such  things  can  be  said  there  is  hardly  a  Govern- 
ment ;  everything  is  sunk  in  weakness  ;  this  weakness 
is  in  the  men ;  the  only  one  who  has  lately  acted  with 
any  vigour  is  Prince  Wittgenstein.  .  .  . 

I  will  extend  my  stay  here  till  August  2,  because 
the  State  Chancellor  has  much  pressed  me  to  do 
so.  As  he  stays  here  with  pleasure,  he  is  in  a  very 
good  humour.  He  is,  moreover,  not  in  mind  but  in 
feeling  close  on  childhood.  The  King  leaves  Teplitz  on 
August  1. 

I  will  arrange  everything  here  as  well  as  I  possibly 
can,  and  as  soon  as  the  basis  is  established  I  will  lay  my 
views  before  your  Majesty. 

In  Berlin  the  well-disposed — and  that  is  the  majority 
— rejoice  over  the  first  strength  the  Government  has 
shown  for  j^ears  ;  and  this  gives  the  Chancellor  more 
courage.     The  German  newspapers  do  what  they  can 


PRUSSIAN  POLICY.  299 

to  mislead  tlie  public  as  to  the  exact  state  of  affairs. 
These  must  first  of  all  be  silenced. 

Metternich  to  the  Emperor  Francis,  Teplitz,Aug.  1,1819. 

352.  My  Eeport  of  yesterday  (No.  351)  will  have 
thrown  as  much  light  as  was  for  the  moment  possible 
on  the  state  of  my  negotiations  here. 

To-day  I  am  able  to  lay  before  your  Majesty  their 
definite  results. 

Having  ascertained  the  wishes  of  the  King  of  Prussia, 
I  entered  into  conference  with  Prince  von  Hardenberg, 
Prince  von  Wittgenstein,  and  Count  von  Bernstorff,  in 
order  to  place  as  clearly  a^  possible  the  foundation  of 
our  future  course  before  them.  To  this  conference  I 
also  invited  Count  Zichy. 

My  plan  consists  in  the  main  of  the  following  pro- 
positions : — ■ 

1.  The  almost  inconceivable  perverseness  of  the 
course  of  most  of  the  German  Governments  (the  Prussian 
above  all)  has  given  such  an  impetus  to  the  revolu- 
tionary spirit  that  perhaps  the  last  period  has  arrived 
when  help  is  still  possible. 

Formerly  the  German  revolutionists  were  as  much 
separated  as  the  States  in  which  they  lived ;  that  under 
such  circumstances  no  effectual  blow  could  be  struck 
by  them  was  soon  clear  to  the  conspirators.  The  mili- 
tary party  in  Prussia  at  first  thought  of  aggrandising 
themselves  by  the  conquest  of  Prussia  ;  the  civil  party 
in  Prussia  limited  themselves  to  employing  their  efforts 
for  the  transformation  of  Prussia.  Some  men  (and  it  is 
noticeable  that  they  are  nearly  all  persons  engaged  in 
teaching)  go  much  further,  and  from  a  revolutionary 
point  of  view  take  the  right  road.  They  direct  their 
eyes  to  the  union  of  all  Germans  in  one  Germany. 


300      PliELI^nXARIES   TO   THE   CARLSBAD   CONFERENCES. 

For  this  the  generation  already  educated  cannot 
serve  them ;  they  therefore  turn  their  attention  to  those 
who  are  to  be  educated,  a  plan  which  commends  itself 
even  to  the  most  impatient,  for  the  student  generation 
includes,  at  the  most,  a  space  of  four  years.  Now,  the 
systematic  preparation  of  youth  for  this  infamous  object 
has  lasted  already  more  than  one  of  these  generations. 
A  whole  class  of  future  State  officials,  professors,  and 
incipient  literary  men,  is  here  ripened  for  revolution. 

If  we  now  reflect  that  in  the  Prussian  Government 
the  most  numerous  and  important  positions,  both  in 
the  centre  of  the  Government  and  in  the  provinces 
(especially  is  this  the  case  in  the  Ehine  provinces),  are 
occupied  by  pure  revolutionists,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered 
at  if  Prussia  is  considered  quite  ripe  for  revolution. 

Two  circumstances  have  unexpectedly  assisted  this 
deep  laid  plan — the  disaffection,  almost  amounting  to 
madness,  of  the  press  in  general,  and  the  introduction 
of  demagogic  Governments  in  South  Germany.  What 
Prussia's  weakness  had  prepared  for  years,  Bavaria 
accomplished  with  one  blow,  Baden  imitated,  and 
Wurtemberg  sought  to  extend  still  further. 

2.  To  complete  this  work  it  now  only  requires  to 
set  uj:)  a  democratic  Government  in  Prussia.  That  this 
measure  is  not  yet  full  depends  on  the  personal  timidity 
of  the  King  and — I  say  without  hesitation — the  syste- 
matic efforts  with  which  I  have  made  it  my  duty  to 
frighten  the  King  from  every  step  which  must  have 
resulted  in  the  inevitable  overthrow  of  all  the  existing 
institutions.  To  this  end  it  was  necessary  that  the 
King,  and  even  the  high  officers  of  the  State,  should 
be  imbued  with  the  most  undoubting  confidence  in  the 
true  friendship  of  your  Majesty,  and  to  obtain  for 
myself  personally  the  good  opinion  of  the  King.     How 


POSITION  OF  THE  KING  OF  PRUSSIA.  301 

tlioroiiglily  this  has  succeeded  is  shown  by  the  present 
result. 

3.  As  the  first  steps  were  attained  by  your  Majesty's 
personal  course  in  German  affairs  as  well  as  in  your 
Majesty's  personal  attitude  towards  the  King,  I  made 
use  of  the  last  meeting  of  the  Courts  at  Aix-la-Chapelle 
to  make  myself  at  home  in  the  internal  affairs  of  Prussia  ; 
and  your  Majesty  will  remember  the  steps  which  I  then 
took  to  explain  to  the  King  himself  his  position  with 
regard  to  his  jDCople — or  rather  with  regard  to  the 
administration — and  to  draw  his  attention  to  the  dif- 
ference between  the  piinciples  Avhich  must  cost  him  the 
throne  and  those  which  may  yet  save  him.  The  salva- 
tion of  the  Prussian  monarchy  may  therefore  probably 
date  from  Aix-la-Chapelle. 

That  this  evil  by  its  extension  produces  the  means 
of  its  own  extinction  is  also  seen  in  Prussia.  Moral, 
hke  physical,  evil  always  reaches  such  a  height,  if  it  is 
not  destroyed  in  its  first  germ,  or  at  any  rate  in  its 
very  first  period,  that  at  last  its  weakness  becomes 
plainly  evident.  The  illusion  disappears,  its  imminent 
and  entire  dissolution  is  palpable,  and  courage  often 
comes  in  the  last  hours  to  the  help  of  the  most  dejected, 
and  it  is  fortunate  if  then  the  elements  of  relief  are  still 
at  their  disposal. 

This  is  the  present  position  of  the  King  of  Prussia. 
It  is  known  to  your  Majesty  that,  by  one  of  those  happy 
chances  which  often  occur  in  the  life  of  States  as  in  the 
lives  of  men,  my  journey  to  Carlsbad  happened  at  the 
moment  of  a  decision  most  important  for  Prussia.  That 
I  consider  the  present  crisis  momentous  for  the  whole  of 
Germany  I  have  shown  your  Majesty  by  my  plan,  not 
only  of  going  to  Carlsbad  myself,  but  of  there  conferring 
with  the  ministers  of  the  chief  German  Courts.     But  a 


302      PRELIMINAPvIES   TO   THE   CARLSBAD   CONFERENCES. 

good  resolution  generally  leads  to  manifold  benefits,  and 
so  it  has  here  turned  out. 

That  the  great  conspiracy  overspreading  the  whole 
of  Germany  would  be  unmasked  just  at  this  moment 
was  so  little  foreseen  by  me  that  it  was  part  of  my 
plan  to  discover  it  at  Carlsbad.  In  the  same  way  your 
Majesty's  idea  of  going  straight  to  Vienna,  instead  of  to 
Milan,  was  one  of  those  happy  inspirations  the  object 
of  which  can  only  be  known  beforehand  by  Providence. 

4.  I  came  here  by  the  pressing  invitation  of  the 
King,  and  found  him,  as  I  mentioned  in  my  last  despatch 
to  your  Majesty,  in  an  excellent  and,  for  him,  unusually 
confidential  mood.  How  much  this  disposition  has  been 
increased  by  my  efibrts  here  was  yesterday  made  most 
evident.  The  day  before  yesterday  I  had  begged  the 
King  to  grant  me  another  audience.  Yesterday  morning 
the  Kino;  came  to  me  himself  with  Prince  Wittg:enstein. 
In  a  conversation  of  two  hours,  and  in  the  presence  of 
that  excellent  and  faithful  witness,  I  unfolded  my  views, 
feelinss  and  convictions  with  the  same  candour  with 
which  I  always  make  it  my  duty  to  speak  to  your 
Majesty.  I  thoroughly  penetrated  the  mind  of  the 
King,  and  found  the  means  of  exciting  in  him  the  most 
active  principle  of  his  character — the  repressive — to 
such  a  degree  that  we  may  hope  he  will  never  take  the 
most  hazardous  of  all  steps,  the  introduction  of  a  con- 
stitution for  his  kingdom,  without  granting  me  a  preli- 
minary examination  of  what  is  to  be  done. 

In  order  to  lead  the  King  to  right  principles,  I  had 
prepared  a  short  work  which  clearly  pointed  out  the 
true  difference  between  such  institutions  as  the  Diets 
and  a  so-called  representative  system.  I  thought  it  all 
the  more  necessary  to  place  this  work  in  the  King's  own 
hands  as  I  saw  that  he  had  placed  the  greatest  value 


PRINCE   VON   HARDENBEEQ.  303 

on  a  far  more  superficial  paper  which  I  had  presented 
to  Prince  Wittgenstein,  as  well  as  to  the  State  Chancellor 
at  Aix-la-Chapelle  (No.  305). 

I  take  the  liberty  of  sending  your  Majesty  a  copy  of 
the  above-named  paper.*  If  your  Majesty  condescends 
to  look  it  over,  you  will  be  convinced  that  only  the 
utterance  of  a  few  sentences — only  a  few  blunders  in 
the  choice  of  the  system  to  be  followed— is  needed  to 
frustrate  for  ever  any  possible  rescue  of  the  good  cause. 

5.  During  my  conversations  here  w^ith  the  first 
Prussian  statesmen,  I  have  convinced  myself  of  the  fol- 
lowing evident  facts. 

Prince  von  Hardenberg  is  morally,  as  well  as  physi- 
cally, in  a  state  of  weakness  bordering  on  childhood. 
He  desires  what  is  right,  he  knows  even  what  is  right,  but 
there  are  in  him  two  elements  always  most  dangerous  for 
a  statesman  of  the  highest  grade,  even  if  his  strength  of 
mind  were  greater  than  ever  was  the  Prince's.  The  one 
is  an  extraordinary  impulse  towards  liberalism  :  the  other 
an  unfortunate  inclination  to  get  strange  people  about 
him.  It  may  be  said  without  exaggeration  that  at  the 
present  time  there  is  not  a  man  near  him  whose  opinions 
are  not  either  of  the  purest  democracy,  or  who  is  not 
already  an  active  participator  in  the  conspiracy  against 
the  very  throne  of  Prussia  itself. 

The  King  is  thoroughly  informed  of  the  state  of 
things.  There  are  in  Prussia  also  two  negative  powers 
in  conflict — the  weakness  of  the  King  with  that  of  the 
State  Chancellor.  The  first  is  the  least  dangerous,  for 
the  King's  weakness  is  coupled  with  indolence  :  that  of 
the  Chancellor,  with  the  greatest  activity. 

Count  BernstorfF  is  thoroughly  right-feehng  in  prin- 

*  This  paper  is  not  to  be  found,  but  it  was  evidently  analogous  with 
No.  305.— Ed. 


301      rRELDIIXAKIES   TO   THE   CARLSBAD   CONFERENCES. 

ciple.  He  is,  lio^vever,  extremely  weak,  and  he  lias 
such  a  deep  consciousness  of  his  j)ainful  position  that 
he  is  quite  enfeebled  by  it. 

Prince  Wittgenstein  thinks  as  I  do  :  he  is  in  the 
main  active,  but  not  nearly  so  much  so  as  he  should  be. 
His  influence  on  the  King  is  far  more  thorough  since 
the  last  discoveries  so  well  conducted  by  him. 

The  director  of  the  Eoyal  Cabinet,  Albrecht,  is  a  quiet 
and  extremely  well-meaning  man.  In  Aix-la-Chapelle 
he  already  began  to  draw  near  to  me,  and  has  here  laid 
aside  all  timidity  in  this  respect.  His  part  is  nega- 
tively very  important,  for  he  makes  it  his  duty  to  re- 
strain the  King  from  many  inconsiderate  steps.  .  .  . 

I  do  not  wish  my  presence  here  to  be  limited  to  an 
empty  convention  ;  therefore  I  have  written  out  the 
sketch  of  an  agreement,  and  laid  it  before  our  second 
conference. 

This  document  contains  the  basis  on  which  alone  I 
seek  the  safety  and  prosperity  of  Germany,  and  at  the 
same  time  is  a  proof  that  Prussia  herself  joins  with  us. 
The  principal  features  of  this  basis  are  as  follows.  I 
start  from  tlie  point  of  view — 

1.  That  to  me  purely  Austrian  must,  in  the  abstract, 
stand  closer  than  Austro-German  affairs. 

A  good  and  vigorously  managed  union  of  States 
[Bundes-Verhdltnisse)  is  certainly  the  best  and  truest 
weapon  of  defence  for  your  Majesty's  own  State :  and 
more,  there  is  no  other  political  combination  which  can 
outweigh  or  replace  the  advantages  arising  from  tliis 
union  of  States.  The  more  firmly  these  propositions 
are  establislied,  the  more  true  it  is  that  the  same  element 
which  if  well  managed  will  lead  to  safety,  may  through 
mismanagement  or  bad  and  careless  execution  become 
highly  dangerous. 


AGREEMENT   WITH   PRUSSIA.  305 

Therefore  from  these  propositions  arises  the  rule,  a 
real  rule  of  life  for  Austria — 

That  we  must  do  everything  to  regulate  and  main- 
tain the  prosperity  of  the  Bund,  or,  in  case  this  should 
prove  impossible,  we  must,  relying  on  our  own  strength, 
assume  a  position  very  different  from  that  we  are  taking 
to-day  towards  the  German  Princes  outside  the  Bund. 

Faithfully  to  follow  out  this  principle  we  must  first 
show  most  exactly  the  true  position  of  affairs,  and  then 
point  out  the  appropriate  ways  and  means  to  improve 
the  defects  in  the  Bund. 

The  course  to  be  followed  is  clearly  laid  down  in  the 
agreement  signed  with  Prussia. 

It  is  divided  into  two  periods — 

(a)  The  present  meeting  of  the  ministers  of  the  most 
important  German  Courts  at  Carlsbad  ; 

(^)  A  second  meeting  at  Vienna  supplementary  to 
the  first. 

At  the  first  our  principles  must  be  made  generally 
known,  and  the  necessary  temporary  measures  founded 
on  them. 

Among  these  I  reckon — 

{a)  The  suspension  of  the  licence  of  the  press  ; 

(b)  The  appointment  of  commissions  for  the  inves- 
tigation of  the  German  universities,  and  the  removal  of 
notoriously  bad  professors  ; 

(c)  The  formation  of  a  special  judicial  commission, 
acting  in  the  name  of  the  whole  Bund,  to  investigate  the 
conspiracy  discovered  against  the  Bund. 

The  second  meeting  can  only  be  devoted  to  discus- 
sions not  of  a  kind  to  be  accomplished  in  a  few  hours  or 
days.  Among  these  I  include  the  correction  of  the  thir- 
teenth article  of  the  Act  of  Confederation. 

All  that  is  most  necessary  here  is  provided  for  by 

VOL.  III.  X 


306  CART.SBAD   CONFERENCES. 

the  engagement  of  Prussia  to  grant  no  representation 
of  the  people — that  is,  not  to  give  themselves  up  with 
one  stroke  to  the  Eevolution. 

Your  Majesty  will  have  been  long  convinced  (and 
the  present  Report  will  show  this  truth  afresh)  how 
little  I  reckon  on  any  firmness  in  the  proceedings  of 
Prussia  as  to  their  home  affairs.  This  much,  however,  is 
certain,  that  all  danger  is  for  the  moment  averted,  and 
with  this  state  of  things  comes  the  possibility  that 
future  evil  may  be  avoided  by  vigorous  measures  at  the 
present  time.  My  great  desire,  therefore,  in  regard  to 
Prussia,  is  to  make  use  of  this  present  time,  and  I  cling 
to  this  firmly. 

The  means  of  leading  the  revolutionised  South 
German  States  back  to  a  better  footing  are  so  critical 
in  their  apphcation  that  they  require  the  most  firm  and 
calm  examination,  and  it  is  only  thus  that  the  desired 
result  can  be  attained.  I  hope  by  this  hasty  but  plain 
representation  to  convince  your  Majesty  that  this  matter, 
which  from  the  harmony  of  Austrian  and  Prussian  views 
begins  so  prosperously,  chiefly  depends  on  this — 

To  save  the  German  Bund  by  the  help  of  Austria, 
or  to  leave  Austria  the  possibility — difficult  as  it  may 
be — to  save  herself. 

I  feel  sure  that  I  shall  never  be  called  upon  to  solve 
more  difficult  problems  than  the  present.  But  they  do 
not  come  of  my  choice ;  the  evil  exists  and  must  be 
conquered :  the  causes  of  the  evil  lie  deep ;  they  must 
therefore  be  grasped  from  the  root :  this  outbreak 
already  overspreads  all  Germany  ;  the  fight  must  there- 
fore take  place  in  the  open  field.  In  these  assertions 
there  is  no  exaggeration  :  they  are  the  expression  of  pure 

truth. 

Metternich. 


EMPEROR'S   REMARKS.  307 

On  this  Report  I  think  it  right  to  make  the  following 
remarks : — 

1.  I  think  it  would  be  best  that  every  State  which 
has  still  no  representation  by  Diet  should  have  the 
bestowal  of  it  deferred,  and  that  at  present  there  should 
be  nothing  said  on  the  matter,  in  order  not  to  put 
troublesome  people  in  movement,  who  would  witli  diffi- 
culty be  satisfied  with  representative  Diets  such  as  are 
meant  in  your  Eeport. 

2.  I  hesitate  to  grant  to  the  Diets  a  share  in  the 
legislation ; 

3.  Or  to  grant  the  proposed  assembly  of  Deputies 
from  the  provincial  Diets,  which  it  would  strengthen 
against  a  monarchy  formed  out  of  different  bodies. 

4.  I  shall  never  allow  my  universities  to  be  examined 
by  a  commission,  for  they  would  thereby  be  brought 
into  the  very  disorder  and  confusion  which  it  is  in- 
tended to  avoid. 

5.  The  formation  of  a  special  judicial  commission 
to  try  the  discovered  conspiracy  against  the  Bund  I 
think  doubtful  and  unjust.  Every  subject  has  the  right 
to  be  tried  according  to  the  laws  of  his  own  State,  or 
that  in  which  the  offence  occurred.  Now,  the  Bund 
has  no  pecuUar  laws  against  crimes,  no  tribunal :  there- 
fore, who  shall  judge,  and  according  to  what  law  shall 
judgment  be  given?  One  must  not  by  unjust  measures 
give  occasion  to  just  complaints,  which  might  here  be 
the  case.  Besides,  who  will  answer  for  it  that  the  judges 
shall  be  properly  chosen,  and  that  there  will  not  be  long 
disputes  at  the  Diet  as  to  the  manner  of  trial  without 
bringing  matters  to  a  point,  thus  making  them  still 
worse  ?  .   .  . 

But  it  is  best,  as  I  have  already  told  you,  not  to 
go  to  work  inconsiderately,  and  perhaps  resort  to  such 

X2 


308  CARLSBAD   CONFERENCES. 

remedial  measures  that  the  evil  in  question  may  be  made 
either  to  take  another  form  or  to  give  place  to  a  new 
one. 

What  We  can  do  depends  on  Us,  but  we  have  to  do 
with  weak  sovereigns  and  weak  Governments,  whose 
fears  we  must  use  to  induce  them  to  severe  but  righteous 
measures,  and  if  this  cannot  be  done,  or  should  the  means 
ordained  by  the  Diet  prove  insufficient  against  the  in- 
action or  treachery  of  others,  we  must  isolate  ourselves, 
and  then — as  I  have  explained  to  you — act  as  the  Aus- 
trian kingdom,  as  the  welfare  of  my  subjects,  requires. 
This  you  can  threaten  to  do,  if  you  should  see  that  it  is 
necessary. 

Francis. 

Sclionbrunn,  August  7, 1819. 


309 


RESULTS  OF  THE  CARLSBAD   CONFERENCES* 

Metternich  to  Count  Buol  in  Frankfurt^  Carlsbad, 
September  1,  1819. 

353.  Enclosed  I  have  the  honour  to  send  your 
Excellency  a  presidential  Eeport  on  several  matters  de- 
bated here  among  the  assembled  plenipotentiaries  of  the 
different  German  Governments. 

From  the  great  importance  of  the  deliberations  and 
with  the  happy  conviction  that  a  corresponding  result 
will  procure  the  security  of  internal  peace  in  the  Bund 
and  confirm  the  federation  in  its  organic  formation,  I 
thoroughly  confide  in  your  Excellency's  sound,  wise, 
and  in  every  respect  efficient  co-operation.  I  expect, 
therefore,  as  soon  as  possible,  intelligence  of  the  further 
course  of  the  dehberations,  and  only  remark  that  in  case 
of  any  doubt  the  two  ambassadors,  Von  Plessen  and 
Yon  Marschall,  can  give  every  explanation  required, 
for  these  two  ministers  are  acquainted  with  the  negotia- 
tions so  far,  and  with  my  views  and  feelings. 

Presidential  Proposition. 

(Enclosed  in  No.  353.) 

354.  The  Royal  Presidential  Embassy  has  received 
orders  to  make  the  following  proposals  to  the  assembly 
of  the  Bund. 

*  There  were  present  at  the  Carlsbad  Conferences — besides  Austria — 
Prussia,  Bavaria,  Saxony,  Hanover,  Wurtemberg-,  Baden,  Mecklenburg, 
Nassau,  Hesse,  and  Saxo  Weimar  :  the  two  last  vyithout  full  powers. — Ed. 


310  CARLSBAD  CONFERENCES. 

His  Imperial  Majesty  believes  tliat  the  wish  of  all  the 
members  of  the  Bund  corresponds  with  his  own  when 
he  calls  upon  that  assembly,  before  their  adjournment, 
to  direct  their  whole  attention  to  the  restless  ao;itation 
and  fermentation  of  feeling  prevailing  in  the  greater  part 
of  Germany ;  to  discover  the  causes  of  this  doubtful 
appearance,  which  for  some  years  has  day  by  day  been 
more  plainly  made  known,  till  at  last,  it  was  unmistak- 
ably revealed  in  sermonising  writings,  in  widespread 
criminal  confederations,  even  in  single  deeds  of  horror ; 
and  to  take  into  serious  consideration  the  means  where- 
by to  secure  order  and  peace,  respect  for  laws  and  con- 
fidence in  Governments,  general  contentment,  and  the 
undisturbed  enjoyment  of  all  the  benefits  which,  under 
the  protection  of  a  durable,  secure  peace,  would  fall  to 
the  share  of  the  German  nation  from  the  hand  of  their 
princes. 

The  source  of  the  evil — to  limit  the  further  progress 
of  which  is  at  present  the  sacred  duty  of  all  the  Ger- 
man Governments — lies  partly,  indeed,  in  the  circum- 
stances and  relations  of  the  time,  on  which  no  Govern- 
ment can  immediately  act,  but  it  partly  depends  on 
definite  needs,  errors  and  abuses,  which  may  certainly 
be  amended  by  united  action  and  well-considered  mea- 
sures. 

Among  the  subjects  which  in  this  latter  respect  re- 
quire the  closest  and  most  careful  consideration  the 
following  are  most  prominent: — 

1.  The  uncertainty  with  regard  to  the  meaning  and 
misunderstanding?  of  Article  XIII.  of  the  Act  of  Con- 
federation  ; 

2.  Incorrect  ideas  of  .  the  powers  of  the  existing 
Assembly  of  the  Bund,  and  inadequate  means  of  im- 
proving those  powers  ; 


ARTICLE  Xni.  311 

3.  The  defects  of  the  school  and  university  systems  ; 

4.  The  abuse  of  the  press,  and  especially  the  dis- 
orders excited  by  newspapers,  journals,  and  pamphlets. 

It  is  the  most  earnest  wish  of  his  Majesty  that  the 
assembly  of  the  Bund  should  occupy  itself  immediately 
with  these  important  matters.  And  the  Presidential 
Embassy  is  hence  appointed  to  impart  these  designs  for 
measures  concerning  the  four  points  above  mentioned, 
and  also  to  nominate  a  central  commission,  whose  object 
and  business  will  be  more  fully  shown  in  the  course  of 
this  Eeport. 

His  Majesty  is  convinced  that  the  members  of  the 
Bund  will  see  once  more  in  these  plans  and  in  the 
accompanying  remarks  those  principles  of  justice  and 
moderation  which  his  Imperial  Majesty  has  always 
taken  for  his  guide,  and  that  the  weU-disposed  in  all  the 
German  States  will  misunderstand  neither  the  pure  and 
benevolent  views  which  have  exclusively  guided  his 
Majesty,  nor  the  straightforward,  hearty,  and  unalter- 
able participation  in  the  general  lot  of  the  States  called 
by  the  Bund  to  equal  advantages,  equal  duties,  and 
equal  efforts. 

/.   Uncertain  Meaning  of  Article  XIII.  of  the  Act  of 

Confederation. 

When  the  illustrious  originators  of  the  German 
Bund  determined,  at  the  time  of  Germany's  pohtical 
regeneration,  to  give  their  people  a  pledge  of  their  love 
and  confidence  by  the  preservation  or  reconstruction  of 
representative  Diets,  and  to  this  end  signed  Article  XIII. 
of  the  Act  of  Confederation,  they  certainly  foresaw  that 
this  article  could  not  be  fully  carried  out  to  the  same  ex- 
tent and  in  the  same  form  in  all  the  States  of  the  Bund. 
The  great  difference  in  the  position  of  the  States  of  the 


312  CARLSBAD   CONFERENCES. 

Bund — of  which  at  tliat  dme  some  retained  their  old 
provincial  representative  institutions  wholly  or  in  part ; 
others  had  possessed  but  entirely  lost  them  ;  while  others 
again  had  never  had  such  institutictns,  or  lost  them  in 
the  earliest  ages — must  necessarily  lead  to  as  great  a 
difference  in  the  management  of  this  important  affair. 
This  difference  was  greatly  increased  by  a  new  arrange- 
ment of  territorial  boundaries,  by  the  union  of  States 
dissimilarly  constituted  into  one  common  State,  and  by 
the  fusion  of  districts  to  whom  representative  institu- 
tions were  more  or  less  foreign  with  provinces  where 
they  had  existed  for  ages. 

In  this  respect,  not  only  the  founders  of  the  Bund 
but  also  afterwards  the  Princes  of  the  Bund  of  that 
time  hesitated  to  listen  to  the  wish  everywhere  expressed 
(and  most  loudly  at  the  Diet)  that  for  the  formation 
of  the  above-named  representative  institutions  men- 
tioned in  Article  XIII.  a  general  standard  might  be 
determined  upon.  If  from  the  non-fulfilment  of  this 
wish  many  evils  arose  for  Germany,  yet  it  would  be 
unjust  to  mistake  the  motive  which  caused  this  silence 
of  the  Bund  on  this  important  point — namely,  respect 
for  the  ricrht  of  each  State  of  the  Bund  to  re2:ulate 
their  internal  affairs  according  to  their  own  views — 
and  the  fear  lest  by  vigorously  outspoken  general  prin- 
ciples, single  States  of  the  Bund  should  be  tlirown  into 
confusion,  and  perhaps  into  indissoluble  difficulties. 

But  the  founders  of  the  German  Bund  could  never 
have  supposed  that  constructions  would  be  placed  on 
Article  XIII.  in  contradiction  to  its  plain  words,  or  that 
results  should  be  drawn  from  it  which  reversed,  not  only 
Article  XIII.,  but  the  whole  text  of  the  Act  of  Confede- 
ration in  all  its  chief  provisions,  and  rendered  the  con- 
tinuance even  of  the  Bund  in  the  highest  degree  pro- 


AETicLE  xni.  313 

blematical.  Never  could  they  have  supposed  that  the 
unambiguous  principle  of  representation  by  Diets  (on 
the  coniirmation  of  which  they  laid  so  much  value) 
should  be  changed  into  pure  democratic  principles  and 
forms,  and  claims  be  grounded  on  this  misunderstanding 
incompatible  with  the  existence  of  monarchical  States, 
which  (with  the  unimportant  exception  of  the  free  towns 
belonging  to  this  body)  are  the  only  constituent  parts  of 
the  Bund,  as  will  appear  immediately  or  in  a  very  short 
time  must  be  made  plain. 

As  little  ground  did  there  seem  to  be  for  the  fear 
that  anyone  in  Germany  would  ever  harbour  the  idea 
of  curtailing  the  substantive  rights  and  attributes  of  the 
Bund  itself  by  means  of  the  provincial  Diets,  or  that  it 
was  really  attempted  to  sever .  the  only  band  by  which 
one  German  State  is  bound  to  the  others,  and  the  whole 
of  Germany  united  with  the  European  system.  Yet  all 
these  sad  misunderstandings  and  errors  have  not  only 
developed  during  late  years,  but,  by  an  unfortunate 
chain  of  circumstances,  have  taken  such  a  hold  on  the 
pubhc  mind  that  the  true  meaning  of  Article  XIII.  has 
been  quite  lost  sight  of.  The  daily  increasing  tendency 
to  fruitless  or  dangerous  theories  ;  the  influence  of  de- 
luded writers,  or  of  those  who  flatter  the  popular  folly  ; 
the  foolish  cravings ;  the  institutions  of  foreign  countries, 
whose  present  political  form  is  as  unlike  that  of  Germany 
as  their  whole  former  history  is  from  ours — the  desire 
to  plant  on  German  soil  these  and  many  other  similar 
and  mostly  deplorable  causes  have  produced  that  general 
political  confusion  of  language  which  threatens  to  con- 
sume this  grand  and  noble  nation,  once  so  gloriously 
distinguished  for  solidity  and  sense.  These  causes  have, 
even  to  many  members  of  the  Diets,  so  obscured  the 
standpoint  on  which  they  were  constitutionally  placed, 


314  CARLSBAD   CONFERENCES. 

and  so  destroyed  the  limits  of  their  true  efficiency,  that 
the  Government  itself  is  hindered  and  disturbed  in  the 
fulfilment  of  its  most  essential  duties. 

The  grounds  which  had  formerly  decided  the  Bund 
not  to  interfere  directly  in  the  affairs  of  single  States  of 
the  Bund  must  now  make  place  for  higher  considera- 
tions. If  the  German  Bund  is  not  to  be  destroyed,  if 
Germany  is  not  to  abandon  its  rights  and  well-being  to 
all  the  horrors  of  internal  divisions,  lawless  caprice,  and 
incurable  disorder,  it  must  secure  a  firm  and  universally 
recognised  foundation  for  its  future  institutions.  Hence 
it  must  be  the  first  and  most  pressing  business  of  the 
Bund  to  enter  upon  a  thorough  explanation  and  inter- 
pretation of  Article  XIII.  of  the  Act  of  Confederation, 
in  a  way  applicable  to  all  the  States  of  the  Bund  in 
whatever  position  they  may  now  be,  and  this  derived, 
not  from  popular  theories  or  foreign  models,  but  from 
German  ideas,  German  rights,  and  German  history,  and 
above  all  by  the  maintenance  of  the  monarchical  prin- 
ciple to  which  Germany  can  never  be  unfaithful,  and 
the  maintenance  of  the  Bund,  as  the  only  support  of  her 
independence  and  her  peace. 

In  all  the  States  of  the  Bund  where  the  provincial 
Diets  are  not  firmly  established,  the  work  must  be  put  in 
hand  without  further  delay,  and,  indeed,  with  redoubled 
activity,  so  desirable  is  it  to  prevent  new  misunderstand- 
ings and  to  facilitate  a  final  agreement  on  the  carrying 
out  of  Article  XIII.  by  the  works  relating  to  the  pro- 
vincial Diets  already  introduced  into  many  of  the  States 
of  the  Bund  ;  and  so  imperative  is  it  that  no  resolution 
should  be  taken  which  in  any  way  whatever  is  in  con- 
tradiction to  the  views  here  expressed,  and  to  the  ex- 
planation of  that  Article  which  may  be  very  shortly 
expected  from  the  Assembly  of  the  Bund. 


POWERS  OF  THE  BUND.  315 


//.  The  Powers  of  the  Bund  and  the  Means  of  carrying 

them  out. 

It  lies  in  the  very  idea  and  existence  of  the  German 
Assembly  of  the  Bund  that  the  authority  represented  by 
it  constitutes  tlie  supreme  legislative  power  in  Germany 
in  everything  relating  to  the  self-preservation  and  essen- 
tial aims  of  the  Bund,  as  is  set  forth  in  Article  II.  of  the 
Act  of  Confederation.  Hence  it  follows  that  the  resolu- 
tions of  the  Assembly,  in  so  far  as  they  have  for  their 
objects  the  inward  security  of  the  whole,  the  independ- 
ence and  inviolability  of  single  members  of  the  Bund 
and  the  maintenance  of  the  legally  existing  order  in- 
separable from  both,  must  be  of  universal  obhgatory 
force,  and  that  the  carrying  out  of  such  resolutions 
must  not  be  opposed  by  any  isolated  legislation  or  any 
separate  resolution.  Without  a  firm  and  vigorous  main- 
tenance of  these  principles  the  existence  and  duration  of 
the  Bund  is  not  to  be  thought  of  as  possible.  The 
further  development,  as  well  as  the  definition  of  the 
powers  and  attributes  of  the  Diet  in  general,  must  be 
reserved  for  further  deliberations  on  the  improvement 
and  maintenance  of  all  the  conditions  established  by  the 
Bund.  Meanwhile  it  will  be  at  once  admitted  on  all 
sides  that  (and  this  the  deliberations  will  prove)  the 
great  principle  cannot  in  itself  be  observed,  nor  can  the 
laws  and  resolutions  of  the  Bund  have  any  guarantee 
for  their  operation,  if  the  Assembly  of  the  Bund  has  not 
entrusted  to  it  the  means  and  strength  to  carry  them 
out.  The  composition  of  an  executive  law  with  this 
object  must  therefore  be  one  of  the  chief  objects  of  the 
dehberations  above  mentioned;  and  his  Majesty  believes 
he  may  take  for  granted  the  fullest  agreement  among 


o 


16  CARLSBAD   CONFERENCES. 


his  allies  in  the  Bund  as  to  the  urgent  necessity  for  such 
a  law. 

Since,  however,  the  Diet  should  not  be  left  without 
the  necessary  means  for  the  administration  and  execu- 
tion of  such  resolutions  and  measures  as  the  internal 
safety  of  Germany  requires,  the  Imperial  and  Eoyal 
Presidential -Embassy  is  authorised  to  submit  for  imme- 
diate examination  and  deliberation  the  draft  of  a  pro- 
visional executive  law  drawn  up  with  express  regard  to 
Article  11.  of  the  Act  of  Confederation. 

///.  The  Defects  of  the  School  and  University  Systems. 

The  attention  of  tlie  Assembly  of  the  Bund,  as 
of  individual  German  Governments,  was  long  ago 
directed  to  this  object,  with  the  exceeding  importance 
of  which  all  Germany  is  penetrated.  A  sound  and 
salutary  direction  of  the  educational  institutions  in 
general,  but  especially  of  the  universities  which  imme- 
diately prepare  the  entrance  into  practical  life,  will  be 
considered  in  every  State  one  of  the  chief  matters  for 
the  royal  care.  But  the  German  Governments  he  under 
pecuhar  obhgations  and  more  than  ordinary  respon- 
sibility in  tliis  respect :  in  the  first  place,  because  in 
Germany  the  education  for  the  public  services  and  for 
official  life  is  entirely  left  to  the  universities  ;  and  then 
because  these  universities  are  a  principal  member  in 
the  whole  union  of  Germans,  and  as  the  good  which 
emanates  from  them  is  spread  over  the  whole  nation,  so 
also  their  defects  are  felt  more  or  less  at  every  point  in 
Germany  ;  lastly,  because  Germany  has  to  thank  her 
universities  (famous  from  of  old)  for  part  of  the  reputa- 
tion and  consequent  rank  in  the  European  commonwealth 
which  up  to  this  time  it  has  happily  maintained,  and  in 


GERALIN   UNIVERSITIES.  317 

the  unabridged  maintenance  of  wliich  his  Majesty  on 
his  side  takes  the  warmest  and  most  active  interest. 

That  the  true  position  of  the  German  universities, 
with  some  well-known  and  honourable  exceptions,  no 
longer  corresponds  with  the  reputation  gained  in  better 
times  can  hardly  be  doubted.  For  some  time  past, 
sensible  and  right-thinking  men  have  remarked  and 
deplored  that  these  institutions  have  lost  their  original 
character  and  deviated  from  the  objects  aimed  at  by 
their  illustrious  founders  and  supporters.  Carried  away 
by  the  stream  of  agitation,  the  greater  part  of  the  aca- 
demic professors  have  mistaken  the  true  ends  of  the 
universities,  and  substituted  for  them  those  that  are 
capricious  and  often  injurious.  Instead  (as  was  their 
first  duty)  of  training  the  youth  confided  to  them  for 
the  service  of  tlie  State  to  which  they  were  called,  and 
awakening  in  them  a  sense  of  what  is  expected  of  tliem 
by  the  fatherland  to  which  they  belong,  they  had 
followed  the  phantom  of  a  so-called  cosmopolitan  culti- 
vation, filled  the  minds  so  susceptible  alike  to  both 
truth  and  error  with  empty  dreams,  and  inspired  them, 
if  not  with  bitterness,  yet  with  contempt  and  opposition 
to  legally  established  order. 

By  this  perverted  course  they  have  gradually,  to  the 
great  prejudice  of  the  common  welfare  and  injury  to  the 
rising  generation,  engendered  the  obscuring  of  the 
higher  wisdom,  contempt  for  all  positive  teaching,  and  a 
pretension  to  reform  social  order  after  a  pecuhar  untried 
system,  till  a  considerable  number  of  the  youth  who 
ouglit  to  be  learners  have  transformed  themselves  into 
teachers  and  reformers.  This  dangerous  degeneracy  of 
the  universities  has  not  escaped  the  notice  of  the  Ger- 
man Governments  in  the  past,  but  partly  from  tlieir 
praiseworthy  wish  not  to  restrict  the  freedom  of  teaching 


318  CARLSBAD   CONFERENCES. 

SO  long  as  it  did  not  encroach  on  civil  matters,  partly 
from  the  troubles  and  pressure  of  a  twenty  years'  war 
they  were  prevented  from  combating  the  evil  with 
sound  remedies. 

But  in  our  days,  under  the  beneficial  influence  of 
restored  external  peace  and  the  hearty  and  active  efforts 
of  so  many  German  sovereigns  to  prepare  a  happy 
future  for  their  people,  it  may  fairly  be  expected  that 
the  universities  should  return  to  those  limits  within 
which  they  formerly  worked  so  gloriously  for  the 
Fatherland  and  for  mankind.  Yet  from  this  very 
quarter  proceed  the  most  determined  hostilities  to  the 
principles  and  rules  on  which  repose  the  present  institu- 
tions and  the  internal  peace  of  Germany.  Whether  by 
criminal  co-operation,  or  by  inexcusable  carelessness, 
the  noblest  powers  and  efforts  of  youth  are  abused  by 
being  made  the  tools  of  extravagant  political  schemes 
which  are  not  the. less  mischievous  because  they  are 
weak.  These  dangerous  courses  have,  indeed,  led  to 
deeds  which  disgrace  the  German  name,  and  further 
indulgence  would  degenerate  into  culpable  weakness, 
while  indifference  to  further  abuses  of  such  a  distorted 
academic  liberty  would  render  the  whole  German  Go- 
vernments answerable  before  the  world  and  to  posterity. 

Certain  as  it  is  that,  in  the  present  grave  position  of 
affairs,  every  other  consideration  must  give  way  to  the 
maintenance  of  public  order,  the  Governments  of  the 
States  of  the  Bund  will  not  lose  sight  of  the  great  ques- 
tion how  to  remedy  the  deep-seated  abuses  of  the  edu- 
cational systems  in  general,  and  especially  to  prevent  the 
further  estrangement  of  the  universities  from  their 
original  and  only  beneficial  ends  ;  and  his  Majesty  there- 
fore holds  that  the  Assembly  of  the  Bund  is  bound  to 
occupy  itself  with  questions  equally  important  for  learn- 


ABUSES   OF   THE   PRESS.  319 

ing  and  for  public  life,  for  the  welfare  of  families  and 
the  strength  of  Governments,  and  not  to  desist  until  a 
sound  and  happy  result  has  been  gained  by  their  efforts. 
But,  in  the  first  place,  the  evil  immediately  threaten- 
ing must  be  met,  and  care  taken  that  by  efficient  mea- 
sures foolish  enthusiasts  or  declared  enemies  to  existing 
order  may  not  seek  in  the  present  distressing  state  of 
many  of  the  German  universities  further  materials  for 
the  excitement  of  men's  minds,  deluded  instruments  for 
the  execution  of  senseless  plans,  or  weapons  to  turn 
against  the  personal  safety  of  citizens.  His  Majesty  has 
therefore  no  scruple,  in  consequence  of  the  provisional 
authority  granted  by  the  Bund  in  this  affair,  in  offering 
the  annexed  sketch  of  some  preKminary  measures  for 
the  immediate  consideration  and  further  dehberation  of 
the  Assembly. 

IV.  Abuses  of  the  Press. 

The  Press  in  general,  especially  that  branch  of  it 
which  supplies  the  journals,  newspapers,  and  pamphlets, 
has  of  late  years  enjoyed  perfect  liberty  in  nearly  every 
part  of  Germany  :  for  even  where  the  Government  has 
had  the  right  to  Hmit  it  by  preventive  measures,  the 
efficiency  of  such  measures  has  been  enfeebled  by  the 
power  of  circumstances,  and  consequently  opened  a 
wide  field  to  all  kinds  of  further  extravagance. 

The  countless  evils  which  the  abuse  of  this  hberty 
has  spread  over  Germany  have  been  seriously  increased 
since  the  publication  in  different  States  of  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  Diets,  including  subjects  which  ought  not  to 
leave  the  sacred  keeping  of  the  Senate  and  appear 
before  the  world  but  in  a  regular  and  solemn  form,  nor 
serve  as  the  sport  of  idle  curiosity  and  careless  criticism, 
preparing  new  food  for  the  rashness  of  authors,  and 


320  CARLSBAD   CONFERENCES. 

affording  a  pretext  to  newspaper  scribblers  to  raise  their 
voices  on  subjects  wliicli  cause  doubt  and  difficulty  to 
the  greatest  statesmen.  How  far  these  injurious  pre- 
tensions would  at  last  extend,  what  confusion  of  ideas, 
what  fermentation  of  minds,  what  degradation  of  autho- 
rity, what  strife  of  passions,  what  fanatical  errors,  what 
crimes  shall  proceed  from  it,  need  not  be  further  insisted 
on,  and  there  can  hardly  be  any  difference  of  opinions 
among  the  well-disposed  and  really  enhghtened  portion 
of  the  German  nation  on  so  notorious  an  evil. 

The  peculiarity  of  the  relations  in  which  the  States 
of  the  Bund  stand  to  one  another  gives  to  the  dangers 
connected  with  the  licence  of  the  press  a  power  and 
extent  which  they  can  never  have  in  States  where  the 
supreme  power  is  united  in  one  and  the  same  centre, 
and  excludes  the  employment  of  the  legal  means  by 
which  in  these  States  an  endeavour  is  made  to  check 
the  abuse  of  the  press.  A  confederation  of  States  hke 
that  which  is  formed  in  Germany  with  the  sanction 
of  all  the  European  Powers  is  wanting  in  that  mighty 
counterweight  which  in  close  monarchies  protects  pubhc 
order  from  the  attacks  of  presumptuous  or  evil-disposed 
authors.  In  such  a  confederation  peace,  harmony  and 
confidence  can  only  be  maintained  by  the  greatest 
mutual  care  in  averting  troubles  and  difficulties.  From 
this  high  point  of  view,  with  which  the  lawgivers  of 
other  lands  have  nothing  in  common,  must  the  questions 
connected  with  the  freedom  of  the  press  in  Germany  be 
considered.  Only  in  a  position  of  the  most  perfect  peace 
can  Germany,  with  its  federal  constitution,  endure  the 
unlimited  freedom  of  the  press  in  so  far  as  it  is  specially 
united  with  that  constitution.  The  present  moment  is 
less  suited  .for  it  than  any  other,  for  the  efforts  of  so 
many  Governments  to  secure  the  present  and  future 


CENTRAL  INVESTIGATION  COMMISSION.  321 

welfare  of  their  peoples  by  good  institutions  cannot, 
amid  a  wild  discord  of  opinions,  possibly  succeed  in 
the  midst  of  a  disorganised  contest,  which  shatters  all 
principles,  and  throws  doubt  and  suspicion  on  all  truth. 
The  temporary  measures  to  be  taken  against  the 
abuse  of  the  press  under  these  pressing  circumstances 
must  in  no  wise  hinder  tlie  activity  of  useful  and  excel- 
lent authors,  fetter  the  natural  progress  of  the  human 
mind,  or  hinder  communication  or  information  of  any 
kind,  so  long  as  it  only  keeps  within  the  limits  which 
no  legislation  has  yet  permitted  itself  to  overstep.  That 
the  supervision  of  periodical  writings  shall  not  de- 
generate into  oppression  is  guaranteed  by  the  feehng 
which  is  openly  expressed  by  all  the  German  Govern- 
ments on  this  occasion,  and  no  friend  of  truth  and  order 
need  fear  the  reproach  that  any  tyranny  over  men's 
minds  is  intended.  But  the  necessity  for  such  super- 
vision can  no  longer  remain  in  doubt,  and  since  his 
Majesty  may  expect  from  all  the  Governments  a  har- 
mony of  views  on  this  important  matter,  the  Presidential 
Embassy  is  commissioned  to  lay  before  the  Assembly  of 
the  Bund  the  annexed  sketch  of  a  provisional  resolution 
for  the  avoidance  of  the  abuse  of  the  press  in  regard  to 
newspapers,  journals,  and  pamphlets,  for  their  immediate 
examination  and  dehberation. 


■  V.  Nomination  of  a  Central  Investigation  Commission. 

Next  to  the  resolutions  and  deliberations  mentioned 
in  the  last  section  of  the  Report,  there  may  still  be  neces- 
sary a  measure  both  for  the  protection  of  public  order 
and  the  calming  of  all  the  well-disposed  in  Germany, 
which  his  Majesty  commends  to  the  immediate  conside- 
ration of  the  Assembly  of  the  Bund. 

VOL.  III.  Y 


322  CARLSBAD   CONFERENCES. 

The  discoveries  which  have  been  made  in  different 
States  of  the  Bund  at  the  same  time  have  shown  traces 
of  a  widespread  and  in  several  parts  of  Germany 
active  union,  with  many  ramifications,  each  more  or 
less  matured,  whose  continued  efforts  seem  to  be  di- 
rected, not  merely  to  the  greatest  possible  spreading 
abroad  of  fanatical,  dangerous,  and  revolutionary  doc- 
trines, but  even  to  the  encouragement  and  preparation 
of  mischievous  schemes.  If  the  extent  and  connection 
of  these  criminal  intrigues  are  not  yet  thoroughly  known, 
yet  the  mass  of  facts,  documents,  and  other  evidence 
already  collected  is  so  considerable  that  the  operation 
of  the  evil  is  no  longer  to  be  doubted.  Opinions  will 
always  be  divided  as  to  the  greatness  of  the  danger  ; 
it  is  enough  that  such  sad  errors  should  gain  so 
much  ground  in  Germany,  that  so  considerable  a 
number  of  individuals  should  actually  be  led  astray,  and 
that,  even  if  the  whole  may  be  considered  only  as  a 
malady  of  the  mind,  the  neglect  of  the  necessary  reme- 
dies may  bring  with  it  the  most  dangerous  consequences. 

A  thorough  investigation  of  the  matter  is  therefore 
of  unavoidable  necessity.  It  must  in  one  way  or  another 
lead  to  a  beneficial  result,  for  tlie  really  guilty  will,  if 
the  suspicion  is  confirmed,  be  disarmed  and  brought  to 
justice,  and  the  deluded  will  have  their  eyes  opened  to 
see  the  abyss  near  which  they  stand,  and  Germany  will 
be  placed  in  a  position  neither  to  be  deceived  as  to 
real  dangers  and  cradled  in  false  security,  nor  disturbed 
and  misled  by  exaggerated  cares. 

But  if  these  investigations  are  to  be  successful,  they 
i|iust  be  made  by  the  Diet  as  the  common  centre, 
and  conducted  under  its  immediate  supervision.  The 
intrigues  and  schemes  already  discovered  are  directed 
quite  as  much  against  the  existence  of  the  German  Bund 


CENTRAL   INVESTIGATION   COMmSSION.  323 

as  against  individual  German  Princes 'and  States  ;  conse- 
quently, the  Diet  is  unquestionably  both  competent  and 
by  Article  IT.  of  the  Act  of  Confederation  strictly  bound 
to  take  cognisance  thereof.  Moreover,  a  central  autho- 
rity so  constituted  is  far  more  competent  than  single 
Governments  to  arrange  the  data  already  prepared  and 
to  collect  what  has  still  to  be  ascertained,  to  examine 
them  with  justice  and  impartiality,  and  to  take  a 
comprehensive  view  of  the  whole  state  of  the  case. 
Lastly,  by  the  official  publication  of  the  whole  proceed- 
ings at  the  close  of  the  investigation  by  the  autho- 
rities, the  fear  will  be  most  effectually  averted  that  the 
innocent  should  be  suspected,  or  the  guilty  escape  pun- 
ishment, and  in  any  case  an  end  will  thus  be  put  to 
many  doubts,  anxieties,  and  restless  agitations. 

These  are  the  grounds  on  which  his  Majesty  is  im- 
pelled to  propose  the  appointment  of  a  central  commis- 
sion of  investigation  with  the  objects  here  described, 
and  the  Presidential  Embassy  is  directed  to  lay  the 
annexed  sketch  of  a  resolution  on  these  measures  before 
the  Assembly  of  the  Bund  for  their  immediate  con- 
sideration.* 

*  In  the  '  instructions '  sent  to  Count  Buol,  at  the  eame  time  as  the 
above  presidential  Proposition,  Count  Metternich  shows  that  '  the  Cabinet  ' 
assembled  in  Carlsbad  '  have  agreed  to  give  similar  instructions  to  their 
ambassadors  to  the  Diet,  instructing  them  to  agree  to  the  Presidential  pro- 
posal, and  to  declare  their  assent  to  the  resolutions  drawn  up.'  These  were, 
in  fact,  four  sketches  or  plans  for  resolutions — namely,  (a)  a  provisional 
executive  statute,  (h)  provisional  measures  regarding  the  universities,  (c)  a 
law  regulating  the  press,  and  (d)  the  appointment  of  a  central  commission 
of  investigation  in  Majence — and  at  the  sitting  of  the  Diet  at  Frankfurt  on 
September  20,  1819,  were  unanimously  adopted  and  officially  published  for 
the  general  information  in  the  different  States  of  the  Bund ;  which  makes  it 
unnecessary  to  include  them  in  this  work,  as  the  substantial  contents  of  this 
codification  is  known  to  the  reader  without  this,  by  the  present  document. — 
Ed. 


y  2 


324  CARLSBAD   CONTERENCES. 

« 

Letter  of  Thanks  from  the  Ministers  assembled  at  Carlsbad 
to  Prince  Metternich^  Carlsbad^  August  30,  1819. 

355.  Most  gracious  Prince.  Your  Excellency 
will  not  refuse,  at  the  last  moment  of  our  present 
memorable  meeting,  to  give  to  one  and  all  of  us  the 
pleasure  of  offering  you  the  unanimous  expression  of 
our  unbounded  respect  and  gratitude. 

If  we  may  venture  to  hope  that  the  difficult  and 
honourable  task  to  which  you  summoned  us  has  been 
fulfilled  in  a  manner  not  displeasing  to  you,  we  have 
to  thank  your  prudent  guidance,  youi'*  ceaseless  efforts, 
and  the  confidence  you  have  so  kindly  shown  in  us  and 
have  also  so  implicitly  received. 

When  you,  on  the  other  side  of  the  Alps,  heard  the 
audacious,  fatally  prophetic  clamour  of  licentious 
writers,  and  the  news  of  a  crime  in  which  superficial  or 
prejudiced  observers  could  see  only  an  isolated  action, 
you  discerned  with  equal  clearness  the  depth  of  the 
evil  and  the  means  of  meeting  it,  and  what  we  have 
here  achieved  and  called  into  life  is  only  the  realisation 
of  what  you  then  designed. 

Tlie  results  of  our  efforts  lie  mostly  beyond  our 
calculation,  but  you  have  secured  for  us  a  rich  harvest 
in  the  feeling  that  we  have,  by  the  results  of  our  de- 
liberations, prepared  for  our  august  masters  the  means 
of  fulfilling  their  most  sacred  and  indispensable  duty 
towards  the  common  fatherland. 

Accept,  your  Excellency,  the  assurance  of  our 
unalterable  and  devoted  respect. 

Carlsbad,  August  30,  1819. 

(Signed)  Bernstorff,  Eechberg,  Stainlein,  Schulen- 
BURG,  Graf  Muis'ster,  Hardenberg,  Winzingerode, 
Berstett,  Munchhausen,  Marschall,  Plessen 


METTERNICH  TO  THE  PRINCE  REGENT      325 

Metternich  to  the  Prince  Regent  of  England^  Carlsbad^ 

September  2,  1819. 

356.  Sire, — I  am  too  sensible  of  the  favour  which 
your  Eoyal  Highness  deigns  to  bestow  on  me,  to  deny 
myself  the  satisfaction  of  offering  my  congratulations 
on  the  happy  agreement  established  between  the  Ger- 
man Cabinets  at  Carlsbad,  and  the  expression  of  my 
thanks  for  the  support  which  the  ministers  of  your 
Eoyal  Highness  have  given  to  all  the  measures  which  I 
have  been  able  to  propose.  A  new  era  is  beginning, 
and  it  will  be  an  era  of  salvation  if  the  German  Courts 
do  not  go  beyond  the  Hmits  assigned  to  them. 

Your  Eoyal  Highness  foresaw  the  importance  of  the 
subjects  wliich  might  be  submitted  to  the  discussion 
which  I  had  arranged  to  take  place  on  my  return  from 
Italy,  and  you  furnished  a  signal  proof  of  this  by  sending 
Count  Minister  to  Carlsbad.  Your  Eoyal  Highness  is 
always  sure  to  be  met  in  the  path  of  those  prin- 
ciples which  would  have  achieved  the  great  Avork  if 
they  had  not  so  often  been  lost  sight  of  in  many  nego- 
tiations of  the  years  1813  up  to  the  disastrous  epoch  of 
1815.  Therefore  it  remains  to  me  to  make  a  request  to 
your  Eoyal  Highness,  to  the  fulfilment  of  which  I 
attach  a  very  high  value.  Questions  of  as  great  an 
interest  for  the  Germanic  Confederation  as  those  we  have 
just  settled  have  been  reserved  for  the  conferences 
which  will  open  at  Vienna  on  November  20  of  the 
present  year.  Less  urgent  in  their  execution,  but  not 
less  useful  in  their  consequences,  these  questions  will 
need  to  be  strongly  supported  by  the  Courts  who  wish 
to  do  good,  because  they  are  above  petty  fears,  petty 
jealousies,  and  many  lower  motives  which  generally 
interrupt  the  development  of  useful  institutions.     You 


326  CARLSBAD   CONFERENCES. 

must  not,  then,  be  surprised,  sire,  if  I.  consider  the 
direct  support  of  Count  Miinster  in  the  course  of  the 
negotiations  of  Vienna  a  real  benefit.  My  wish  is 
simple — it  is  only  tliat  the  action  of  Austria  may  thus 
be  strengthened.  I  do  not  beheve  that  our  next  confer- 
ences can  extend  beyond  six  weeks,  but  those  will  count 
for  much  in  the  future  existence  of  the  Confederation. 

Permit  me,  sire,  to  take  the  present  opportunity  of 
entreating  your  Eoyal  Highness  to  continue  the  gracious 
favour  with  which  j^ou  have  long  deigned  to  honour 
me,  and  which  is  due  to  my  devotion  for  your  august 
person.     Deign,  &c.  &c. 

Metternich  to  Esterhazy  in  London^  Konigswart^ 
September  3,  1819. 

357.  The  assembled  ministers  at  Carlsbad  have 
just  terminated  their  business.  I  had  the  honour  to 
inform  you,  at  the  time  of  my  arrival  in  this  town,  of 
the  object  which  called  me  here.  It  is  with  very  lively 
satisfaction  that  I  can  now  assure  you  that  all  I  wished 
to  submit  to  the  common  dehberation  of  the  principal 
German  Cabinets  has  received  their  unanimous  sanction. 

A  great  affair  has,  perhaps,  never  been  treated  with 
more  harmony  and  agreement  in  all  its  parts  than  that 
which  we  are  just  bringing  to  an  end.  The  evils  which 
menace  the  repose  of  Germany  have  been  examined 
wdth  calmness  and  candour.  The  German  Cabinets 
have  met  together  there  as  if  they  were  members  of  one 
and  the  same  family.  They  have  placed  thorough  con- 
fidence in  the  wise  and  steadfast  principles  which  direct 
the  pohtical  and  administrative  steps  of  the  Emperor. 
The  results  of  the  harmony  which  is  established  between 
the  Governments  will  operate  usefully  on  the  present 
and  future  measures  of  the  Diet ;  and  I  allow  myself  to 


METTERNICH   TO   ESTERHAZY.  327 

entertain  great  hopes  of  the  influence  which  may  be 
brought  to  bear  on  the  whole  of  Europe  by  this  first 
examjjle  of  tlie  maintenance  of  monarchical  principles 
by  a  political  body  so  imposing  as  the  Germanic  Con- 
federation. 

The  labours  of  the  Conference  mav  be  divided  into 
two  parts,  which  include  all  the  most  essential  objects 
of  the  Confederation. 

The  first  bears  on  the  measures  to  oppose  to  the 
demagogic  spirit,  which  has  made  immense  progress  in 
Germany  wdthin  the  last  two  or  three  years. 

The  second  bears  on  the  organic  laws  of  the  Con- 
federation, which  are  most  essential  to  strengthen  and 
complete  the  existence  of  this  great  political  body. 

The  measures  of  the  greatest  interest  at  the  present 
moment  will  be  proposed  at  the  Diet  by  the  President 
about  the  15th  of  this  month.  It  was  necessary  to 
permit  a  fortnight  to  elapse  between  the  definite  agree- 
ment of  the  majority  of  the  federal  Courts  and  the  pro- 
position at  the  Diet,  in  order  to  allow  time  to  inform 
those  princes  who  were  not  represented  at  Carlsbad 
of  the  result  of  the  conferences,  and  to  enable  them 
to  give  the  necessary  orders  to  their  ambassadors  at 
Frankfurt,  so  that  they  may  add  their  votes  to  those  of 
the  majority. 

The  organic  laws  agreed  on  in  principle  will  be  dis- 
cussed in  detail  at  a  second  meeting  of  the  Cabinets, 
which  will  take  place  at  Vienna  after  November  15. 
The  Federal  Diet  will  adjourn  after  having  made  the 
first  Imperial  propositions  into  laws,  and  it  will  be 
enabled  to  sanction  at  the  opening  of  the  session  of  1820, 
and  in  constitutional  forms,  the  resolutions  adopted  by 
the  majority  in  the  conferences  at  Vienna  during  f!he 
vacation  of  the  Diet.  .  .  . 


328  CARLSBAD   CONFERENCES. 

I  beg  you  to  present  the  enclosed  letter  to  his  Eoyal 
Highness  (No.  356).  I  have  taken  the  hberty  of  ad- 
dressing him  directly,  to  thank  him  for  the  support  I 
received  from  Counts  Munster  and  Hardenberg  at  a 
most  decisive  time  for  the  salvation  of  Europe.  There 
ought  to  be  nothing  surprising  in  seeing  the  ministers 
of  his  Royal  Highness  on  all  occasions  professing  the 
same  principles  as  those  of  our  august  master  the  Em- 
peror— the  only  ones  which  may  yet  be  able  to  arrest 
the  torrent  of  the  revolution.  It  is  nevertheless  rare, 
in  the  progress  of  a  very  complicated  affair,  considering 
the  essence  of  the  German  federation,  to  meet  with 
Courts  so  indissolubly  united  as  our  own  and  that  of 
Hanover.  If  this  fact  is  perhaps  connected  with  the 
position  of  the  two  Courts,  the  men  who  are  charged 
with  the  defence  of  such  great  interests  are  not  the  less 
meritorious  if  they  strictly  follow  the  line  most  favour- 
able to  the  interest  of  their  prince  and  their  country, 
and  consequently  the  most  consonant  with  their  duty. 

I  cannot  doubt  that  the  Cabinet  of  St.  James's  will 
give  its  assent  to  the  result  of  our  labours  at  Carlsbad, 
as  well  as  to  those  which  have  been  merely  sketched 
out.  • 

The  scenes  which  many  towns  in  England  present 
show  what  partisans  folly  has  gained.  The  easiest  trade 
and  the  most  certain  of  success  during  the  last  few  years 
has  been  that  of  rebellion  against  social  order,  against 
the  laws  existincr  in  all  civilised  countries,  and  ajjainst 
reason  founded  on  the  experience  of  all  time.  A  grand 
example  of  vigour  has  just  been  given  in  Germany, 
which  must  resound  in  every  corner  of  Europe.  It  will 
give  an  impetus  to  minds  whose  principles  are  most 
opposite ;  the  effect  whicli  it  produces  will  be  different 
according  as  more  or  less  strength,  calmness,  and  wis- 


METTERNICH  TO  ESTERHAZY.  329 

dom  is  displayed  by  tlie  Governments.  We  already  begin 
to  see  that  many  men  who  quite  recently  hoisted  the 
democratic  colours  are  retiring  little  by  little  from  the 
scene  ;  there  are  even  some  who  secretly  offer  their 
services  in  favour  of  the  cause  which  we  defend,  and  a 
simple  meeting  of  the  Cabinets  sufficed  to  accomphsh 
this,  without  their  resolutions  being  even  known  !  The 
gauntlet,  besides,  was  thrown  down  by  the  revolutionists  ; 
we  have  had  the  courage  to  pick  it  up,  and  I  beg  you 
to  assure  the  English  ministers  that  I  flatter  myself  I 
am  personally  sufficiently  well  known  to  them  to  allow 
me  to  admit  that  they  are  not  mistaken  as  to  the  nature 
of  the  principles  which  we  are  opposing  to  the  revolu- 
tionists, and  the  energy  which  we  shall  display  in  the 
conduct  of  the  affair. 

Mettemich  to  Freiherr  von  Hruhy,  Austrian  Ambassador 
at  Mu7iich,  Vienna,  October  25,  1819. 

358.  I  lost  no  time  in  laying  before  the  Emperor 
your  Excellency's  Eeport.  His  Majesty  is  deeply  agitated 
by  its  contents,  and  thinks  it  well  to  write  to  the  King 
himself.  This  letter  your  Excellency  will  find  enclosed 
in  this. 

At  the  audience  which  you  will  request  you  will 
have  a  convenient  opportunity  of  imparting  to  his  Ma- 
jesty clearly  and  openly  the  views  of  the  Emperor,  as 
follows : — 

Your  Excellency  cannot  describe  too  vigorously  the 
impression  made  upon  his  Imperial  Majesty  by  the 
strength  which  has  been  shown  by  his  Majesty  the  King 
in  time  past,  as  well  as  in  contrast  to  the  attacks  of  the 
revolutionary  party  against  the  Carlsbad  decrees.  The 
Emperor  conjures  the  King  to  continue  firm,  and  not  to 


330  CARLSBAD   CONFERENCES. 

allow  himself  to  be  overcome  by  the  intrigues  of  that 
party.  What  that  party  desires  (their  words  may  be  as 
hypocritical  as  possible)  has  been  made  evident  to  the 
King  by  the  proceedings  of  the  Chambers. 

The  Carlsbad  decrees  are  directed  against  all  the 
evils  experienced  at  present.  They  are  the  result  of  the 
voluntary  agreement  of  the  German  Princes  ;  they  were 
called  together  by  their  own  feehng  of  danger ;  the 
Emperor  had  not  summoned  them  to  the  council  for  his 
own  needs  or  his  own  danger :  he  had  spoken  and  acted 
only  for  the  general  good.  He  was  placed  above  the 
crowd  ;  he  must  help  it  to  rise  or  he  must  separate  from 
it,  and  what  the  common  efforts  cannot  save,  he  must 
save  for  itself. 

The  King  is  deluded  ;  he  risks  his  sovereignty.  He 
will  never  be  endangered  by  the  means  used  to  secure 
his  rights  but  by  the  weakness  of  the  Governmental  mea- 
sures.     How  lonof  has  tlie  word  of  a  demao-osfue  or 

o  o    o 

wrong-seeing  speculator  deserved  more  attention  than 
his  own  experience  ?  The  King  should  remember  the 
fine  promises  which  were  made  to  him  before  the  Con- 
gress by  the  Chambers,  and  their  results. 

It  is  said  that  the  King  cannot  perjure  himself.  No, 
never !  How  thoroughly  the  Emperor  feels  this  he  has 
shown  by  the  answer  he  commanded  me  to  give  to  the 
question.  What  Avould  Austria  say  to  the  overthrow  of 
the  Government  ?  But  if  it  is  shown  that  the  Bavarian 
Government  requires  some  alteration  in  its  different 
parts  to  secure  to  the  Crown,  and  consequently  to  the 
people,  justice  and  peace,  the  King  will  find  means  in 
the  sovereign  assembly  of  German  Princes  itself  to  bring 
into  harmony  all  the  parts  of  a  work  so  important  for 
Bavaria. 

All  the  laws   after  September  20  are  nothing  but 


METTERNICH  TO  VON  HRUBY.         331 

means  for  the  security  of  the  much-threatened  peace  in 
Germany.  What  is  wanted  here  is  some  remedy,  some 
repose,  some  principle.  Help  can  only  come  from  pro- 
portionate remedies,  and  a  State  which  excludes  itself 
from  the  general  necessities  exposes  itself  and  the 
community  to  inevitable  dangers  —  dangers  the  im- 
mediate consequences  of  which  are  incalculable  if  they 
are  encouraged  by  the  miscarriage  of  the  measures 
already  decided  on. 

Lastly,  your  Excellency  is  authorised  to  draw  his 
Majesty's  attention  to  the  Emperor's  position  in  the  affair. 
His  Imperial  Majesty  has  already  bestowed  his  protec- 
tion, and  only  demands  to  be  supported  faithfully  as  far 
as  hes  in  the  King's  power.  He  demands  this  as  a  friend 
of  the  King,  of  his  throne,  and  of  his  peace.  .  .  . 

3Ietternich  to  Freiherr  von  Hriiby,  Vienna, 
Oct.  25,  1819. 

359.  I  have  no  cause  to  be  surprised  at  anything 
we  may  live  to  see  in  Munich.  This  Court  has  for  years 
gone  on  in  this  ever  vacillating  way,  and  would  still 
have  followed  that  course  but  for  the  iron  hand  of  Na- 
poleon, who  knew  how  to  enchain  it  by  prospects  of 
advantage.  So  soon  as  the  first  had  lost  his  strength, 
and  the  second  had  disappeared,  the  Bavarian  Court 
turned  round.  .  .  . 

If  you  think  it  would  be  at  all  useful,  invite  his  Ex- 
cellency Marshal  Wrede  to  come  here  himself.  I  fear 
no  one  to  whom  I  can  speak  face  to  face. 

Your  Excellency  can  say  to  Count  Eechberg,  with- 
out reserve,  that  we  have  received  through  couriers 
from  Warsaw  the  excellent  declarations  of  the  Emperor 
of  Eussia  in  re^^ard  to  the  course  of  affairs  at  Carlsbad  ; 


332  CARLSBAD  CONFERENCES. 

that  the  only  objection  he  made  to  those  beneficial 
measures  was  an  expression  of  fear  lest  the  German 
Princes  should  carry  thern  out  partially  and  feebly,  since 
most  of  them  had  long  since  lost  all  power  of  govern- 
ment. ... 


333 


FROM  CARLSBAD   TO   VIENNA, 

Extracts  from  Metternich's  private  Letters  from  September  3  to 
December  22,  1819. 

360.  Pleasant  feelings — portrait  of  Metternicli  as  a  boy  of  five — character- 
istics described  by  himself.  361.  Making  bridges  and  roads  at  Konigs- 
■wart.  362.  Recollections  of  1813.  363.  Return  to  Vienna.  364. 
Marshal  Maruiont.  365.  Views  on  the  Carlsbad  decree.  366.  The 
final  decree  at  Vienna.  367.  Commemoration  of  the  Battle  of  Leipsic — 
Napoleon — Metternich's  memoirs.  368,  Commencement  of  the  Con- 
ferences in  Vienna — speech  of  Talleyrand's.  369.  The  Conferences.  370. 
Reflections  on  Metternich's  activity — a  German  deputation  demand  Met- 
ternich's head.  371.  On  novels.  372.  Progress  of  the  Conferences. 
873.  A  tedious  day. 

360.  Kmigswart,  Sept  3,  1819. — The  peace  and 
quiet  reigning  here  all  around  me,  excite  the  pleasantest 
feelings  in  my  heart.  I  do  not  belong  to  those  who 
think  that  movement  is  the  object  of  life.  There  is  a 
very  grave  tinge  about  the  place  where  I  hve.  The  neigh- 
bourhood is  rich  in  picturesque  spots.  Enormous  forests, 
high  mountains,  wide  valleys,  much  water,  lovely  streams 
surround  a  well-furnished  house  pleasant  to  live  in,  con- 
taining old  family  pictures,  among  which  there  is  a 
portrait  of  myself  as  a  boy  of  five  years  old.  I  must 
have  been  a  most  ill-favoured  child,  or  the  painter  not 
extremely  clever.* 

The  weather  is  horrible.  This  high  ground  is 
always  either  cold  or  rainy  ;  it  would  inspire  Lord  Byron 
with  a  truly  melancholy  poem.  Whether  the  English 
poet  will  honour  Vienna  next  winter  with  a  visit,  as  is 

•  This  portrait  is  still  at  Konigswart. — Ed. 


334     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

reported,  I  leave  still  undecided.  JSTear  the  good  town 
of  Vienna,  too,  I  am  always  uneasy.  I  do  not  love  it  for 
its  own  sake,  and  still  less  for  my  own.  But  if  heaven 
listens  to  my  secret  wishes,  I  shall  end  with  leaving 
Vienna  very  willingly.  So  it  is  with  all  places  where 
people  live — they  are  nothing  in  themselves,  but  every- 
thing from  circumstances.  Then,  too,  there  is  nothing 
in  Konigswart  to  attach  me,  not  one  remembrance,  and 
perhaps,  too,  no  particular  thought — unless,  perhaps, 
the  thought  that  one  day  my  ashes  will  be  brought  here 
to  repose  by  those  of  my  father.  I  do  not,  however, 
find  anything  sad  in  this  idea,  for  I  believe  and  heartily 
trust  in  God.  I  shall  be  regretted  by  many  of  the 
great  and  good — execrated  by  those  who  are  neither. 
The  standpoint  from  which  I  have  thought  and  acted 
is  of  such  a  height  that  my  name  remains  identified 
with  great  events,  for  the  very  reason  that  I  had 
the  misfortune  to  live  in  a  period  of  revolution. 

This  period  will  pass  away  like  all  human  folly. 
Happy  tliey  who  have  known  how  to  maintain  them- 
selves upright  amidst  the  ruins  of  generations  !  I  have 
arrived  at  the  middle  of  the  life  of  a  generation,  and 
fate  has  laid  upon  me  tlie  task  of  warning  the  genera- 
tion now  coming  to  the  front  and  preserving  them  from 
straying  on  to  the  steep  incline  which  would  surely  lead 
them  to  their  ruin.  The  Carlsbad  epoch  is  hence  one 
of  the  most  important  of  my  life. 

361.  Septemher  4. — In  the  last  three  years  I  have 
had  a  high  road,  seven  miles  (German)  long,  made  at  my 
own  cost,  and  I  have  come  to  a  place  where  it  is  very 
difiicult  to  carry  it  on,  across  a  deep  and  muddy  valley. 
I  have  therefore  had  a  bridge  of  three  arches  constructed, 
which  has  cost  me  over  70,000  gulden,  and  will  require 
some  60,000  gulden  more.    The  bridge  will  be  beautiful, 


KONIGSWART  AND  TRAGUE.  335 

and  very  convenient  for  travellers.  Many  people,  when 
they  cross  it,  would  think  it  had  been  standing  there  for 
ever  ;  but  I  have  had  a  stone  placed  on  it  with  an  inscrip- 
tion saying  that  I  made  the  bridge.  Of  a  hundred 
travellers  ninety-nine  will  think  the  builder  must  have 
been  either  a  Croesus  oi  a  fool. 

362.  Prague^  September  9. — I  never  come  to 
Prague  without  thinkino;  I  hear  midnio-ht  strike.  Six 
years  ago,  at  that  hour,  I  dipped  my  pen  to  declare 
war  with  the  man  of  the  century — the  Man  of  St. 
Helena — to  kindle  the  beacon  which  was  the  signal  for 
100,000  men  of  the  alhed  troops  to  cross  the  frontier. 

363.  Vienna,  September  14. — ^What  the  return  to 
his  own  house  of  a  poor  man  hke  me  is  nobody  knows, 
because  few  people  are  watched  with  so  much  envy 
and  jealousy,  few  so  beset,  so  celebrated,  so  decried, 
and  so  praised.  Why  has  fate  brought  me  what  I  never 
desired,  and  what  (besides  its  being  a  womanish  fuss) 
seems  to  me  the  most  horrible  of  human  destinies  ? 

364.  September  21. — Among  the  strangers  whom 
I  have  met  here  is  Marshal  Marmont,  an  intellectual 
man,  whom  I  knew  very  sliglitly.  I  have  talked  much 
with  him,  and  I  see  that  he  finds  me  different  from  what 
he  had  expected.  I  can  speak  with  him  the  more 
openly,  as  he  is  here  on  family  affairs  only.  We 
meet,  therefore,  as  merely  private  persons.  After  our 
last  conversation,  in  which  for  three  hours  we  talked 
over  past  events,  and  the  present  internal  condition  of 
the  country,  he  said  : — '  Since  the  last  time  that  I  heard 
Napoleon  speak,  before  he  became  mad,  this  is  the  first 
reasonable  conversation  I  have  heard.' 

365.  September  25. — I  have  just  received  the  news 
from  Frankfurt  that  the  child  which  I  have  carried  nine 
months  will  at  last  see  tlie  light !     Its  birtliday  falls  on 


336     EXTEACTS  FROM  METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

September  20.*  Each  party  wishes  to  baptise  the  child 
by  a  different  name.  Some  call  it  a  monster,  some  a 
good  work,  some  a  piece  of  stupidity.  Truth  lies  be-, 
tween  them.  The  first  legislative  word  which  has  been 
spoken  for  thirty  years,  uttered  from  a  sense  of  reason, 
justice,  and  experience,  without  reserve,  as  well  as  with- 
out disguise,  plain  but  not  dry,  with  neither  mystic  nor 
secret  meanings,  this  w^ord  is  a  great  fact,  one  of  the 
most  important  of  my  life.  If  the  world  thinks  that  I 
am  right,  I  shall  rejoice ;  if  it  thinks  I  am  wrong,  I  will 
excuse  it  beforehand.  Nothing  is  so  free  as  man's 
thought,  and  certain  shades  in  it  even  contribute  to  the 
charm  of  life  and  its  relations — relations  which  give  to  life 
its  greatest  value.  My  part  is,  moreover,  not  doubtful. 
I  have  never  worn  a  mask,  and  those  who  have  mis- 
taken me  must  have  very  bad  eyes.  My  resolution  is 
taken.  Nothing  can  turn  me  from  it,  as  nothing  can 
drive  me  in  a  direction  I  do  not  wish  to  take.  Shall  I 
succeed  ?     By  God,  I  know  not ! 

366.  October  13. — I  fall  from  one  pregnancy  into 
another.  Hardly  have  I  returned  from  Carlsbad  than  a 
new  labour  is  prepared  for  me  within  three  months.  My 
Carlsbad  child  is  ill-tempered  :  it  fights  and  bites  ;  it  deals 
heavy  blows  at  many  bad  people,  and  more  fools.  My 
Vienna  child  will  be  gentle  and  well  mannered,  but 
horribly  tiresome.f  Why  must  I,  of  all  people  among  so 
many  millions,  be  the  one  to  think  where  others  do  not 
think,  to  act  where  no  one  else  will  act,  and  write  because 
no  one  else  can  ?  And  what  will  be  the  end  of  it  to  me  ? 
I  am  really  a  slave,  with  a  heart  full  of  disgust.  A 
function  is  laid  upon  me  which  takes  me   away  from 

•  See  No.  354. 

t  This  refers  to  the  Ministerial  Conference  at  Vienna.     See  No.  374. — 
Es. 


NAPOLEON.  337 


everything  that  is  according  to  my  taste,  and  embitters 
the  happiness  of  Hfe.  If  ever  you  meet  with  a  really 
ambitious  man — and  they  are  rare — send  him  to  me.  I 
will  talk  with  him  for  a  couple  of  hours,  and  he  will  be 
cured  for  some  time. 

367.  October  18. — I  write  to  you  to-day  on  the 
anniversary  of  the  greatest  event  of  modern  history. 
This  day  six  years  ago  the  fate  of  the  world  was  decided. 
Napoleon  would,  however,  have  been  as  entirely  lost 
without  the  battle  of  Leipsic  as  he  was  after  it.  But 
this  day  enhghtened  the  world,  and  will  always  be 
looked  upon  in  the  annals  of  history  as  the  turning- 
point  of  that  memorable  epoch,  showing  the  beginning 
of  a  new  era.  The  hand  of  God  was  armed  with  twenty 
nations  to  subdue  one  man,  who,  to  master  a  people 
whom  he  had  placed  above  all  other  peoples,  had  put 
himself  above  all  other  men.  My  soul  was  never  more 
filled  with  holy  reverence  than  during  the  course  of  that 
long  day,  which  I  passed  between  the  dead  and  dying. 
Yet  peace  was  in  me  and  around  me.  Napoleon  could 
not  have  had  a  similar  feeling  ;  on  that  day  he  must 
have  experienced  a  foretaste  of  the  Last  Judgment. 

You  said  lately  that  you  were  reading  with  great 
interest  Napoleon's  correspondence.  You  are  quite 
right.  This  correspondence  and  the  '  Memoire  de  Ste. 
Helene' *  are  doubtless,  of  all  the  writings  which  have 
lately  appeared,  the  most  worthy  to  engage  the  attention 
of  the  enlightened.  The  correspondence  gives  a  picture 
of  the  most  marvellous  man  the  world  has  ever  seen  ; 
it  gives  his  picture  at  the  moment  of  his  ascent,  and 
every  letter  of  Napoleon's  shows  that  the  upward  move- 
ment was  quite  a  natural  one,  and  arose  from  the  force 
of  circumstances  itself.     The  manuscript  from  St.  Helena, 

•  See  vol.  i.  p.  312. 
VOL.  III.  Z 


338  CARLSBAD   CONFERENCES. 

on  the  contrary,  includes  everything  that  explains  his 
decline.  It  is  remarkable  that  the  causes  of  his  neces- 
sary and  inevitable  downfall  are  the  same  which  bore 
him  to  the  summit  of  power  and  military  fame. 

I  2:>assed  the  grandest  years  of  his  hfe  with  Napoleon 
or  near  him.  I  think  few  men  have  known  him  better 
than  I,  because  I  have  not  confined  myself  to  bare  symp- 
toms, but  have  endeavoured  to  discover  their  foundation. 
When  I  saw  that  the  whole  power  for  good  and  evil  was 
embodied  in  that  one  man,  I  could  do  no  otherwise  than 
study  him,  and  only  him.  Circumstances  placed  me 
near  this  man  ;  they  have,  so  to  speak,  chained  me  to 
him.  Hence  my  study  of  him  was  thorough,  and  every 
day  taught  me  that  it  was  complete.  After  my  death 
a  very  interesting  memoir  will  be  found  of  this  man  and 
his  influence  on  the  events  of  his  age.*  I  say  his  age, 
because  tliis  age  really  belongs  to  him.  By  the  writings 
I  leave  behind  me  many  circumstances  will  certainly  be 
explained,  many  doubts  dispelled,  and  many  errors  rec- 
tified. For  many  years  I  have  written  and  laboured  at 
this  work.  I  shall  complete  it,  for  I  have  already  made 
considerable  progress,  but  it  will  not  be  published 
for  tliirty  or  forty  years,  because  I  will  first  give  time 
for  the  death  of  living  persons.  This  work  is  one  of 
my  favourite  employments ;  it  includes  the  time  from 
tlie  year  1806  till  after  the  Peace  of  Paris  in  1815. 
Of  these  nine  years  I  know  much.  It  is  hardly  possible 
that  anyone  should  now  know  all  that  I  knew.  I  con- 
clude my  work  with  the  year  1815,  because  everything 
which  came  after  that  belongs  to  ordinary  history.f 
Since  that  date  the  age  was  left  to  itself;  it  progresses 
because  it  cannot  be  held  back  ;  but  led  it  will  never  be 

*  See  tlie  '  Portrait  of  Napoleon,'  vol.  i.  p.  269.— Ed, 

t  Thia  may  explain  the  gap  which  is  found  in  the  Memoirs  after  1816. 


CONFERENCES   OPENED.  339 

again.  It  is  more  agreeable  to  me,  during  the  rest  of 
my  life,  to  amplify  my  notes  on  tliis  period  of  nine  years 
than  to  compile  a  new  memoir  on  the  later  period, 
which  has  become  a  simple  story.  We  have  fallen 
upon  a  time  when  a  thousand  small  calculations  and 
small  views  on  the  one  side,  gross  mistakes  and  feeble 
remedies  on  the  other,  form  the  history  of  the  day.  The 
sea  still  runs  high,  but  it  is  only  from  the  storm  which 
has  passed  over.  One  may  easily  upset  in  such  a  sea — 
for  the  wind  is  more  difficult  to  reckon  on  than  the 
storm — but  the  spectacle  is  no  longer  imposing. 

I  have  often  told  you  that  in  writing  I  follow  the 
impulse  of  the  moment ;  and  to-day  I  feel  this,  for  I 
fancy  I  hear  tliat  noise  so  strikingly  described  by  the 
expression  '  the  roar  of  the  battle,'  that  sound  which 
was  called  forth  by  the  clashing  together  of  tlie  strongest 
forces  of  modern  times.  The  Austrian  army  alone  had 
on  the  18th  shot  off  60,000  cannon  balls,  and  since  this 
army  represented  only  a  third  of  the  assembled  powers, 
one  may  venture  to  assert  that  on  that  day  more  than 
300,000  cannon  balls  must  have  been  fired.  Then  if  we 
reckon  twelve  to  fifteen  million  musket-shots,  and  the 
whole  distributed  in  the  space  of  ten  hours,  some  idea 
may  be  formed  of  the  noise  made  by  the  fall  of  a  single 
man. 

368.  November  25. — I  have  this  day  opened  the 
Conferences.*  I  have  spoken  more  than  two  hours,  and 
T  am  sorry  not  to  have  had  a  shorthand  writer  at  my 
disposal,  for  if  my  words  were  not  spoken  to  the  winds, 
unhappily  they  nevertheless  fly  like  the  wind.  .  .  .• 

Talleyrand  once  said,  '  Austria  is  the  House  of  Lords 
of  Europe  ;  as  long  as  it  is  not  dissolved  it  will  restrain 
the  Commons.'     A  very  true  saying. 

*  See  tlie  opening  speech,  No.  379. — Yji. 
Z  2 


340  CARLSBAD   CONFERENCES. 

369.  December  2. — I  have  found  a  moment's  quiet. 
The  business  of  the  Conference  proceeds  very  welL  I 
have  gone  to  the  root  of  this  matter — a  rare  tiling  in 
moral  and  pohtical  discussions.  I  told  my  iive-and- 
twenty  friends  in  an  upright  and  decided  manner  what 
we  want  and  what  we  do  not  want.  On  this  avowal 
there  was  a  general  declaration  of  approval,  and  each 
one  asserted  that  he  had  never  wanted  more  or  less,  or, 
indeed,  hardly  anything  different.  Now  I  am  surrounded 
by  people  who  are  quite  enchanted  with  their  own  force 
of  will,  and  yet  there  is  not  one  among  them  who  a 
few  days  ago  knew  what  he  wants  or  will  want.  This 
is  the  universal  fate  of  such  an  assembly.  It  has  been 
evident  to  me  for  a  lono'  time  that  amoncr  a  certain 
number  of  persons  only  one  is  ever  found  who  has 
clearly  made  out  for  himself  what  is  the  question  in 
hand.  I  shall  be  victorious,  here,  as  in  Carlsbad  :  that 
is  to  say,  all  will  wish  what  I  wish,  and  since  I  only 
wish  what  is  just,  I  believe  I  shall  gain  my  victory.  But 
what  is  most  remarkable  is  that  these  men  will  go  home 
in  the  firm  persuasion  that  they  have  left  Vienna  with 
the  same  views  with  Avhich  they  came. 

370.  Decemher  15. — Business  always  requires  a  cer- 
tain time ;  this  time  will  be  filled  up  by  the  beginning 
of  tlie  business  and  by  its  more  or  less  tedious  course, 
and  it  is  generally  found  that  its  conclusion  is  only  the 
beginning  of  a  new  affair.  Of  all  positions  the  last  is, 
for  a  man  who  represents  important  interests,  the  most 
vexatious.  For  eleven  years  I  have  been  wliat  I  am, 
certainly  far  from  the  beginning  of  my  task  ;  but  twenty 
years  remain  to  me,  and  then  I  shall  be  entitled  only  to 
ruminate  on  past  affairs,  and  certainly  I  shall  undertake 
tlie  conduct  of  no  great  business  from  the  day  in  which 
I  discover  in  myself  irresolution.     What  have  I  done 


NOVELS.  341 

during  the  past  eleven  years,  and  what  remains  for  me 
still  to  do  in  the  next  twenty  years  ?  What  I  have 
hitherto  done  has  been  negative  :  I  have  fought  against 
evil  more  than  effected  good.  If  I  consider  my  task 
from  its  beginning  onwards,  I  may  well  be  permitted  not 
to  love  those  tyrants  and  fools  who,  under  the  names  of 
philosophers,  philanthropists,  socialists,  democrats,  reli- 
gious fanatics,  are  nothing,  or  much  worse. 

Up  to  this  time  I  have  met  with  little  opposition  ;  I 
have  sought  it  in  vain,  and  hitherto  have  not  discovered 
it.  Perhaps  for  that  reason  a  newspaper  has  brought 
the  news  that  a  German  deputation  is  coming  here  to 
demand  my  head  !  The  deputation  may  lose  some  time 
about  this,  but  the  poor  devils  would  gain  very  little  by 
beheading  me,  for  the  cause  has  made  too  great  a  pro- 
gress to  be  now  retarded.  Shall  an  earthquake  throw 
down  the  edifice,  or  a  volcano  open  beneath  our  feet  ? 
Such  catastrophes  are  beyond  our  calculation.  It  will 
ever  be  the  same  !  But  with  my  head  many  others 
would  fall,  and  pi'obably  I  should  see  many  others  fall 
before  mine. 

371.  December  17. — I  have  the  bad  habit  of  not 
going  to  sleep  without  reading  for  an  hour  or  half  an 
hour.  I  generally,  however,  read  nothing  which  is  con- 
nected with  my  business.  I  busy  myself  with  scientific 
literature,  discoveries,  travels,  and  simple  narratives. 
Novels  I  never  read,  unless  they  have  become  classics 
and  thus  have  some  hterary  value.  The  common  novel 
does  not  interest  me  ;  I  always  find  them  far  beneath 
what  I  conceive  ;  impressive  situations  come  before  me 
always  too  strongly,  and  I  cannot  prevent  myself  from 
looking  at  the  last  page — where  people  are  married  or 
killed — at  the  same  time  as  tbe  title-page.  Then  nothing 
is  left  for  me  but  to  say,  Amen,  and .  the  romance  for 


342  CARLSBAD   CONFERENCES. 

me  is  lost.  If  tlie  heroes  of  a  romance  are  to  be  ad- 
mired, tliey  are  no  better  than  I  am  myself ;  if  they  are 
not-  they  are  indeed  worth  but  little.  I  have  no  need 
to  learn  how  people  express  their  feelings.  I  have 
always  been  afraid  of  meeting  with  empty  phrases,  where 
my  heart  would  not  find  a  word.  .  .  .  My  heart 
belongs  entirely  to  me :  my  head  does  not ;  it  is  con- 
cerned in  the  affairs  of  the  world,  which  were  never  so 
important  for  me  as  happiness. 

372.  December  21.  —  Our  affairs  here  will  not  extend 
beyond  the  end  of  the  month  of  February.  Everything 
goes  on  as  I  had  hoped — indeed,  as  I  predicted. 

373.  December  22. — I  have  passed  a  very  tedious 
day,  which  seldom  happens.  Work  often  fatigues  me, 
but  tedium  kills  me  outright.  I  cannot  stand  great 
dinners,  and  I  have  been  obliged  to  be  present  at  one 
which  lasted  three  hours.  This  is  the  unpleasant  con- 
sequence of  a  Congress,  and  one  from  which,  unfortu- 
nately, I  cannot  escape.  Happily,  I  can  be  alone  in  a 
crowd,  and  the  greater  the  crowd  the  better  I  am  able  to 
isolate  myself. 


o 


43 


BEGINNim  OF  THE   VIENNA   MINISTERIAL 
CONFERENCES. 

Metternich  to  Baron  Neumann}  in  London :  Jive  letters^ 
from  October  31  to  December  17,  1819. 

374.  Vienna,  October  d1,1S1^. —  ....  The  great 
German  business  will  be  completed  here  in  November. 
All  is  going  on  well  ;  rage  is  in  the  enemy's  camp  ;  it 
vents  itself  in  lies,  not  being  able  to  tgke  its  revenge. 
In  the  meantime  we  are  doing  our  very  best.  Never- 
theless, the  thing  is  not  easy,  owing  to  the  petty  fears, 
the  small  measures,  and  the  real  terror  of  some  of  the 
German  Governments.  But  the  affair  is  not  in  their 
hands.  It  rests  with  Austria  and  Prussia  As  long  as 
they  do  not  deviate  from  the  route  they  have  marked 
out,  they  will  be  sure  of  success,  and  the  Prussian  Go- 
vernment, which  has  not  an  easy  part,  will  go  firmly 
and  well. 

375.  November  1Q>. — -  ....  I  beg  you  to  tell  Lord 
Castlereagh  that  the  opening  of  our  important  delibera- 
tions will  take  place  on  the  20th  of  this  month.  All  the 
German  ministers  will  be  here  at  that  time. 

As  we  only  desire  what  the  most  ordinary  reason 
and  common  sense  dictates  ;  as,  far  from  any  divergence, 
there  exists  an  absolute  conformity  of  views  between  us 
and  Prussia  ;  as  the  conduct  of  the  King  of  Wurtemberg 
is  not  of  a  kind  to  attract  imitators,  I  flatter  myself  that 

*  Baron  Neumann,  a  man  very  raucli  in  the  confidence  of  the  Prince, 
was  at  that  time  head  of  the  Austrian  Embassy  in  London. — Ed. 


344  CONFERENCES   AT   VIENNA. 

tlie  Eimd  will  come  forth  from  our  conferences  stronger 
than  it  enters  them. 

The  only  question  is  to  consolidate  the  Bund  on  the 
same  basis  and  in  the  same  position.  The  Carlsbad 
measures  will  neither  be  strengthened  nor  weakened : 
they  exist,  they  need  only  to  be  executed,  and  they 
will  be. 

I  enter  into  these  details  because  it  is  just  possible 
that  the  Government  of  his  Britannic  Majesty  might 
receive  the  most  contradictory  reports  from  its  represen- 
tatives in  Germany.  I  venture  to  say  there  is  not  one 
of  them  who  sees  clearly  the  actual  state  of  things. 
This  is  the  game  of  the  party  we  are  pursuing,  who  take 
all  possible  pains  to  disguise  the  truth.  It  is  curious  to 
observe  that  we  have  not  remarked  a  single  criticism 
bearinfT  on  what  was  done  at  Carlsbad  ;  all  bear  on 
what  was  avoided  there.  It  is  especially  the  Commis- 
sion of  Inquiry  which  torments  the  factious  :  they  attri- 
bute functions  to  it  which  it  does  not  possess,  for  they 
are  fully  aware  that  they  would  not  receive  the  least 
support  from  the  public  if  they  raised  the  real  question, 
which  is  :  If  it  is  good  that  the  Governments  should 
assure  themselves  of  the  real  existence,  the  extent,  and 
the  means  employed  by  the  demagogues,  who  simply 
aim  at  the  total  overthrow  of  all  society  in  Germany  ? 
This  aim  is  known,  proved,  followed,  and  sustained  by 
most  criminal  means. 

This  Commission  has  opened  its  sittings.  The  mate- 
rials on  which  they  work  are  immense  ;  at  present  they 
are  principally  occupied  with  the  result  of  judicial 
inquiries  against  convicted  persons.  Unhappily  we 
shall  dispose  of  only  too  large  an  amount  of  material ! 
Europe  will  receive,  when  the  result  of  the  labour  is 
published,  a  great  lesson  on  the  danger  of  encouraging 


ACT   OF  FEDERATION.  845* 

revolutionary  ideas,  sustained  by  blind  or  foolish  Go- 
vernments, and  directed  by  the  factious  under  the  mask 
of  a  kindly  liberalism  ! 

376.  December  6. — Our  conferences  just  now  take 
a  very  prosperous  turn. 

Will  vou  reassure  Lord  Castlereai::rh  from  me  as  to 
any  alteration  of  the  mind  of  the  Confederation  on  the 
imjx)rtant  question  of  political  relations,  or  on  the  ques- 
tion of  peace  and  war.  There  have  never  been  held 
any  secret  committees  at  Frankfurt  on  this  latter  ques- 
tion ;  as  to  the  question  of  the  Federal  Act,  we  shall 
treat  it  to  the  satisfaction  even  of  Lord  Castlereagh,  and 
to  the  great  displeasure  of  Capo  d'lstria,  who  is  waiting 
for  us  there.  I  beg  Lord  Castlereagh  to  believe  that  I 
know  all  the  dangerous  sides  of  the  thing,  and  that  I  shall 
take  care  to  avoid  the  rocks.  The  sea  upon  which  I  sail 
is  so  well  known  to  me  that  we  shall  enter  the  port  when 
we  are  thought  to  be  far  from  approaching  it. 

An  immense  point  will  be  gained  by  the  consolida- 
tion of  this  great  social  body,  founded  on  a  pacific  basis 
in  the  very  centre  of  Europe. 

377.  December  9. —  ....  I  flatter  myself  that 
Lord  Castlereagh  will  be  satisfied  with  the  two  first 
things  I  have  submitted  to  the  Conference.  He  will  be 
convinced  by  reading  them  that  we  are  determined  to 
prove  to  the  alHed  States  what  the  Emperor  understands 
by  federation,  and  to  convince  them  as  well  as  foreign 
Powers  that  we  do  not  wish  to  make  any  change  either 
in  the  bases  of  the  Bund  or  in  the  application  of  those 
bases.  We  recognise  but  one  fundamental  law,  and 
that  law  is  the  Federal  Act  itself.  Li  the  first  of  our 
sittings  I  declared  tliat  the  Emperor  regarded  this  act 
as  so  sacred  that  if  by  chance  any  fault  of  expression 
should  be  found  in  the  original  copy,  his  Luperial  Ma- 


346  CONFERENCES   AT   VIENNA. 

jesty  would  not  allow  it  to  be  corrected.  This  declara- 
tion, and  the  fact  of  having  aj^proached  the  discussion 
on  the  most  difficult  side — by  settling  the  legal  functions 
of  the  Confederation — will  ensure  us  the  most  complete 
success. 

Lord  Castlereagh  has  sometimes  reproached  me  for 
not  pushing  things  forward  on  certain  occasions  ;  I  hope 
he  will  now  change  his  opinion  of  me.  I  shall  always 
be  found  very  exact  on  positive  questions,  for  they  are 
the  only  ones  for  which  I  have  any  inclination. 

378.  December  17. —  ....  The  progress  of  the 
German  conferences  could  not  be  more  satisfactory  than 
it  continues  to  be.  The  most  complicated  question,  per- 
haps— namely,  the  interpretation  of  Article  XIII.  of  the 
Federal  Act — is  almost  terminated.  A  short  but  precise 
paper  which  I  submitted  to  the  Committee  charged  with 
the  Report  has  been  adopted  eagerly  and  unanimously. 
All  the  corollaries  which  Avere  to  be  drawn  from  it,  in 
order  to  arrive  at  an  agreement,  were  brought  forward, 
debated,  and  settled  in  three  sittings  of  this  Committee  ; 
the  Report  was  made  by  the  Committee  in  a  general 
sitting  held  yesterday,  and  adopted,  except  some  amend- 
ments proposed  by  the  too-zealous  friends  of  the  good 
cause.  You  see  that,  although  we  are  here  only  as  the 
representatives  of  Cabinets,  we  have  also  our  ultras. 
I  am  myself  sometimes  accused  of  too  great  hberalisra, 
when  I  am  simply  defending  wluit  is  right,  and  above 
all  what  is  possible  and  of  real  utiUty.  But  happier 
than  Lord  Castlereagh,  the  adversaries  with  whom  I 
have  to  contend  are  men  who  wish  only  for  what  is 
good,  though  not  always  in  a  practicable  way.  It  is 
not  in  my  nature  to  yield  to  them. 


347 


OBJECT  AND  IMPORTANCE  OF  THE   VIENNA 
MINISTERIAL   CONFERENCES. 

379.  Opening  address  by  Prince  Metteruicli.* 

379.  The  Emperor  has  commanded  me  to  open  the 
conferences  to  which  we  are  called,  by  making  known 
his  principles  and  wishes  by  a  simple  and  sincere  state- 
ment, such  as  becomes  his  Imperial  Majesty  at  a  time 
of  so  much  importance  for  the  country. 

I  believe  I  could  not  better  fulfil  the  intentions  of 
his'  Imperial  Majesty  than  by  placing  before  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Governments  of  Germany  the  idea 
which  has  led  to  our  present  meeting. 

The  Confederation  of  the  Bund  was  formed  at  the 
time  of  the  foundation  of  the  European  system,  for  the 
protection  of  the  internal  and  external  peace  of  Ger- 
many ;  to  offer  to  the  nation  as  a  whole  the  only  possible 
centre  of  unity,  and  to  guarantee  the  independence  of 
each  of  the  Federal  States,  both  in  regard  to  its  neigh- 
bours forming  part  of  the  federation  as  well  as  of  the 
federation  towards  the  foreigner. 

This  Confederation  formed  by  the  sovereign  princes, 
with  whom  were  associated  the  four  free  towns  of  Ger- 
many, secured  to  the  whole,  and  to  each  of  its  members 
in  particular,  whatever  their  means  or  their  strength,  a 
common  and  reciprocal  pledge  of  preservation  and  pro- 

*  This  speech  was   translated   into  French  for   communication  to   the 
foreign  ambassadors.     The  German  original  cannot  be  found. — Ed. 


348  CONFERENCES  AT  VIENNA. 

tection,  an  iiiestimal)le  advantagi,  which  could  only  be 
received  with  the  most  lively  s.itisfaction  on  all  hands. 
The  importance  of  such  a  union  established  in  the 
centre  of  Europe,  and  the  salutary  influence  which  it 
must  exercise  in  the  consolidation  of  the  general  peace, 
cannot  be  forgotten  by  those  Courts  who  took  part  in 
the  transactions  of  1813  and  1814,  and  the  Germanic 
federation  was,  from  its  birth,  placed  under  the  express 
and  solemn  guarantee  of  all  the  European  Powers. 

This  federation  had  received  its  first  fundamental 
laws  by  the  Act  which  formed  its  basis.  The  Diet  may 
commence  its  action ;  but  the  point  is,  after  further  de- 
liberation to  fix  its  functions,  the  extent  of  its  jurisdic- 
tion, the  limits  of  its  powers,  and  even  the  forms  to  be 
followed  in  the  most  essential  parts  of  its  work.  This 
deliberation,  so  necessary  to  complete  and  consolidate 
the  edifice  of  which  the  Federal  Act  had  only  traced 
the  chief  outlines,  should,  according  to  the  custom  gene- 
rally adopted,  have  taken  place  in  the  midst  of  the  Diet 
itself.  Obstacles  of  every  kind  have  caused  this  impor- 
tant affair  to  be  put  off  from  time  to  time.  This  was 
the  first  opposition  Germany  has  experienced  since  the 
foundation  of  the  federal  constitution. 

An  evil  of  a  different  nature,  the  efforts  of  which 
are  not  less  perceptible,  has  been  added  to  this  first 
cause  of  stagnation :  namely,  the  injurious  influence  of 
a  revolutionary  party  in  all  the  countries  of  Europe, 
whose  alarming  progress  makes  itself  felt  in  more  than 
one  part  of  the  Germanic  Confederation  ;  a  scourge  de- 
stroying the  basis  of  all  social  order,  in  the  beginning 
restricting  itself  to  a  small  number  of  individuals  moved 
by  discontent  or  by  political  fanaticism,  but  soon  draw- 
ing after  it  whole  generations,  exciting  the  enthusiasm 
and  raising  the  passions  of  tlie  multitude  by  the  abuse 


OPENING   ADDRESS.  349 

of  a  few  sacred  words,  and  the  deceptive  bait  of  philan- 
thropic theories  ;  a  contagious  disease,  misunderstood 
by  many  of  the  German  Governments,  while  others 
have  treated  it  with  too  much  indulgence,  and  others 
again  have  applied  useless  remedies,  which  have  only 
brought  on  new  complications. 

During  the  Emperor's  last  visit  to  Italy,  many  of 
the  German  Courts  addressed  confidential  overtures  to 
his  Imperial  Majesty,  placing  beyond  a  doubt  what  at 
last  is  beginning  to  be  recognised  everywhere — how 
necessary  it  is  to  take  measures  against  a  danger  which 
every  day  becomes  more  formidable.  All  the  en- 
lightened men  in  Germany,  who  are  sincerely  attached 
to  their  country  and  to  the  maintenance  of  order,  are 
filled  with  the  same  sentiments  and  share  the  same  con- 
viction. 

Always  disposed  to  devote  his  attention  and  his 
powers  to  the  general  good,  his  Majesty  has  not  hesitated 
to  accept  the  idea  of  a  confidential  agreement  between 
those  Courts,  where  the  necessity  of  combating  the  evil 
has  been  most  felt,  and  others,  which  by  their  situation 
are  not  so  easily  reached.  His  Imperial  Majesty  has 
nothing  to  fear  for  himself;  he  hopes  that,  under  the 
protection  of  God,  the  calm  and  regular  action  of  a  well- 
established  government  will  preserve  his  States  from 
contagion.  But  it  is  not  sufficient  for  the  Emperor 
to  see  his  throne  and  his  people  preserved  from  danger ; 
he  desires  to  fulfil  his  duty  towards  his  alhes,  as  much 
as  circumstances  will  allow.  The  candour  and  firmness 
which  his  Imperial  Majesty  has  evinced  in  the  first  de- 
liberations which  have  taken  place  on  this  subject,  tlie 
zeal  with  which  he  has  undertaken  the  most  diflicult 
part  in  this  enterprise,  are  plainly  shown  by  the  pro 
posals  which  he  has  caused   to  be  made  to  the  Diet. 


350  CONFERENCES   AT   VIENNA. 

Thanks  to  the  glorious  unanimity  which  characterised 
the  conferences  of  Carlsbad,  thanks  to  the  support 
which  the  resolutions  prepared  in  those  conferences 
have  received  from  the  Diet  from  the  time  they  were 
drawn  up,  a  decided  step  has  been  taken  towards  a 
better  state  of  things  ;  and,  provided  the  Governments 
of  Germany  are  all  equally  determined  not  to  swerve 
from  the  path  they  have  chosen,  but  to  follow  it,  not 
only  in  the  spirit  of  justice  and  wisdom  which  dictated 
the  presidential  proposals  of  September  20,  but  with  that 
inflexible  perseverance  without  which  nothing  great  has 
ever  been  consummated,  the  greatest  success  must 
crown  our  efforts. 

If  the  measures  adopted  by  common  agreement,  and 
on  the  scrupulous  execution  of  which  his  Imperial 
Majesty  thinks  he  can  reckon  with  entire  confidence, 
justify  the  hope  that  the  interior  tranquillity  of  Germany 
will  not  be  disturbed,  that  none  of  the  pernicious  plans 
which  are  the  object  of  our  just  apprehension  will  be 
realised,  we  have  still  to  get  over  another  source  of 
danger — namely,  the  want  of  exact  definition  in  many 
essential  points  of  our  federal  constitution. 

This  question  was  not  broached  at  Carlsbad,  except 
in  some  general  and  prehminary  observations.  But  all 
opinions  being  agreed  as  to  the  necessity  of  treating 
it  thoroughly,  his  Imperial  Majesty  proposed  to  devote 
some  deliberations  to  it  later  on.  This  proposition 
was  received  on  all  sides  with  tliat  spirit  of  concord 
and  patriotism  with  which  the  conferences  of  Carlsbad 
were  constantly  animated  ;  and  thus  our  present  meeting 
was  arranged — a  decisive  moment  for  the  future 
destinies  of  the  Germanic  Confederation. 

It  seems  to  me  not  without  use  to  consider  for  a  few 
moments  the  reasons  which  have  induced  his  Imperial 


OPENING   ADDEESS.  351 

Majesty  to  propose  this  meeting.  The  Germanic  Con- 
federation of  the  Bund  is  an  integral  part  of  the  pohtical 
system  of  Europe.  All  which  at  present  forms  the 
public  law  of  Germany  is  inseparably  connected  with 
the  covenant  which  forms  the  basis  of  this  Confederation, 
for  not  only  the  rights  which  it  exercises  in  common, 
but  also  the  sejDarate  rights  of  sovereignty  of  each  of 
these  States  in  particular,  depend  on  this  covenant.  It 
is  no  longer  in  our  power  to  question  the  existence  of 
the  Confederation ;  and  it  would  be  as  contrary  to  the 
interests  as  to  tlie  dignity  of  the  Princes  who  have 
taken  part  in  it  to  allow  it  to  languish  in  a  state  of 
imperfection,  condemning  it  to  impotence  and  inaction. 
A  common  duty,  an  indispensable  duty,  requires  us,  on 
the  contrary,  to  raise  the  federal  union  to  that  degree 
of  strength  and  perfection  which,  according  to  the  inten- 
tions of  i^s  founders,  it  should  reach.  The  progress 
made  during  the  last  three  years  is  far  from  fulfilhng 
that  intention. 

His  Majesty  is  persuaded  that  a  delay  so  annoying 
does  not  proceed  from  opposition  to  the  aim  of  the  fede- 
ration ;  that  the  principal  cause,  if  not  the  only  one,  is 
to  be  found  in  the  fluctuation  of  ideas,  in  the  incorrect, 
vague,  and  contradictory  notions  of  the  nature  of  the 
federal  covenant,  and  on  the  relations,  rights  and  duties 
connected  with  it. 

To  determine  these  notions,  and  to  apply  them  in  a 
safe  and  precise  manner  to  the  different  problems  which 
claim  our  attention — such  is,  in  the  opinion  of  his  Ini 
perial  Majesty,  the  principal  object  of  the  present 
deliberations.  Experience  has  shoAvn  how  difficult  it 
was  to  arrive  at  satisfactory  results  by  tlie  dis- 
cussions opened  on  this  subject  at  Frankfurt,  and  it 
is   in   the   nature   of  things    that    direct   exj^lanations 


352  CONFERENCES  AT   VIENNA. 

between  the  Cabinets  should  far  better  advance  this 
work.  The  Emperor  is  assuredly  as  far  as  any  of  his 
great  alhes  from  wishing  to  restrain  the  activity  of  the 
Diet,  or  from  offering  the  slightest  want  of  respect  to 
an  assembly  the  authority  of  which,  on  the  contrary, 
all  the  members  of  the  Confederation  are  interested  in 
maintaining  and  strengthening. 

But  this  assembly  is  composed  of  delegates  pro- 
ceeding in  legal  forms,  and  according  to  the  instructions 
of  their  respective  Governments,  with  the  affairs  on 
which  they  are  called  to  treat.  The  extent  and  hmits 
of  their  jurisdiction  must  therefore  be  fixed,  and  it  is 
not  the  assembly  itself  which  can  or  should  be  charged 
with  fidlilling  this  condition. 

When  once  the  Governments  which  constitute  the 
Confederation  of  the  Bund  shall  be  agreed  on  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  their  union,  and  on  the  sense  in 
which  they  should  be  applied  to  positive  questions,  the 
progress  of  the  Diet  will  become  safer  and  more  easy, 
and  this  advantage  wdjl  make  itself  felt  in  all  branches 
of  its  transactions. 

The  President  of  the  Diet  has  set  forth  in  a  separate 
proposition — forming  one  of  those  of  September  20 — 
different  subjects  of  deliberation,  about  which  the  am- 
bassadors have  requested  instructions  from  their  Courts. 
The  same  subjects  have  been  indicated  in  the  letters  of 
invitation  addressed  by  the  Cabinet  of  his  Imperial 
Majesty  to  all  the  Governments  of  Germany,  as  those 
which  are  chiefly  to  occupy  us  in  the  present  con- 
ferences. Many  other  important  questions  already 
submitted  to  the  deliberations  of  the  Diet,  but  which 
were  left  undecided,  or  only  provisionally  arranged,  are 
connected  with  the  above-mentioned  subjects.  All 
these  matters,  the  discussion  of  which  at  the  Diet  must 


METTERNICIi'S   ADDRESS.  35 


o 


be  prepared  and  facilitated  by  agreement  between  the 
plenipotentiaries  of  the  federal  Governments,  are  pre- 
sented in  the  list  annexed  to  this  discourse. 

His  Imperial  Majesty  values  too  highly  the  preserva- 
tion and  the  glory  of  the  great  political  body  of  which 
he  himself  is  one  of  the  principal  members  not  to  have 
the  sincerest  wishes  for  the  success  of  the  conferences 
which  are  about  to  be  opened.  His  Imperial  Majesty 
has  decided  to  communicate  to  that  illustrious  assembly, 
without  reserve,  his  principles  and  views  on  all  the 
points  submitted  to  our  deliberations.  He  indulges  the 
hope  that  his  confederates  will  see  in  this  step  a  new 
proof  of  zeal  for  the  general  good,  and  for  the  closest 
union  between  all  the  Governments  of  Germany,  that 
his  example  will  be  generally  followed,  and  that  every- 
one will  acknowledge  the  value  of  an  occasion,  perhaps 
unique,  for  consulting  all  opinions,  for  dissipating  all 
doubts,  and  for  removing  all  obstacles.  Thus  we  can 
take  credit  to  ourselves  for  giving  to  the  Germanic 
Confederation  that  perfection,  that  stability,  and — what 
will  be  the  infallible  effect — that  external  consideration 
which  rightfully  attaches  to  the  union  of  thii'ty  millions 
of  Germans,  equal  in  rank  and  influence  to  the  first 
European  Powers,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  secure  to 
each  particular  State  that  common  guarantee  against 
internal  and  external  dangers  which,  according  to  the 
letter  and  spirit  of  the  Federal  Act,  was  the  principal 
aim  of  this  Confederation. 

Prince  MetternicKs  Second  Address. 

380.     In  my  first  discourse  I  had  the  honour  to 

inform  the  Conference  that  his  Majesty   the   Emperor 

considered  the  principal  object  of  our  meeting  to    be 

that  of  fixing  definitely  the  meaning  (too  little  under- 

yoL.  m.  A  A 


354  CONFEEENCES   AT    VIENNA. 

stood  up  to  this  time)  of  our  federal  system,  as  well  as 
the  relations,  rights  and  duties  which  belong  to  it,  and 
to  apply  these  notions  to  the  different  questions  which 
we  are  called  upon  to  resolve. 

Before  we  proceed  to  this  business  I  think  it  my 
duty  to  unfold  some  general  principles,  indicating  the 
point  of  view  from  which  the  Emperor  has  constantly 
regarded  the  federation,  and  the  sense  in  which  he  has 
associated  himself  with  a  system  of  which  his  Imperial 
Majesty  was  one  of  the  founders,  and  to  the  main- 
tenance of  which  he  will  never  cease  to  devote  his  care. 

I.  In  the  pact  of  union  concluded  by  the  sovereign 
Princes  and  free  cities  of  Germany,  the  sovereignty 
of  each  of  the  confederate  States  is  placed  under  the 
direct  guarantee  of  the  rights  of  the  people,  and  recog- 
nises no  other  limits  than  those  required  by  the  main- 
tenance of  German  unity  in  relation  to  foreign  Powers, 
and  those  resulting  from  common  measures  for  the  in- 
ternal safety  and  tranquillity  of  the  Confederation.  It 
follows  from  this  first  principle  that,  in  settling  the  pre- 
rogatives of  the  Confederation,  there  can,  in  any  case, 
be  no  question  of  infringing  the  sovereign  rights  of 
those  States  which  are  members  of  the  union — rights 
expressly  guaranteed  by  the  compact  upon  which  this 
union  rests  ;  his  Imperial  Majesty  having,  besides,  the 
inward  conviction  that,  placed  in  their  true  light,  the 
engagements  towards  the  federal  body  impose  no  real 
sacrifice  on  the  sovereigns  who  have  contracted  them, 
that,  notwithstanding  these  engagements,  their  rights  of 
sovereignty  remain  intact,  and  that  the  federal  union 
simply  tends  to  secure  to  these  rights  an  increase  of 
strength  and  extent. 

II.  The  Federal  Act  is  the  first  fundamental  law  of  the 
Union.     No  resolution,  whether  it  has  for  its  object  the 


METTERNlCirS   ADDRESS.  355 

development  of  the  principles  of  the  federation,  whether 
it  bears  on  the  interests  of  the  whole,  or  whether  it  re- 
gards individual  affairs,  can  be  opposed  to  the  disposi- 
tions of  this  Act. 

Although  by  this  declaration  the  inviolabihty  of  the 
Federal  Act  is  recognised  in  the  most  positive  manner, 
the  confederate  Governments  do  not  the  less  preserve 
the  power  of  interpreting  and  developing  the  funda- 
mental law  in  such  a  way  as  seems  most  convenient  to 
them.  This  reservation  is  stated  in  the  text  of  the 
Federal  Act  itself,  while  Article  X.,  in  demanding  sup- 
plementary laws,  has  made  over  to  the  Diet  the  draw- 
ing up  of  these  laws.  Now,  experience  and  careful 
examination  having  taught  us,  as  I  observed  in  my  first 
discourse,  that  it  is  in  all  respects  better  to  assign  this 
business  to  the  direct  deliberations  of  the  Cabinets,  it 
is  evident  that  our  present  meeting  is  fully  qualified  to 
discuss  the  necessary  regulations  for  completing  the 
federal  institutions,  in  order  to  arrive  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible at  satisfactory  results  on  the  above-mentioned  con- 
ditions previous  to  any  subsequent  transactions. 

III.  Tlie  assembly  which  represents  the  Confedera- 
tion (the  Diet)  is  responsible  to  the  political  body  which 
constituted  it,  just  as  tlie  ambassadors  at  the  Diet  are 
responsible  to  their  respective  Governments.  In  a 
higher  sense,  each  federal  State  is  responsible  to  the 
federal  body  for  the  faithful  accomplishment  of  obliga- 
tions immediately  connected  with  the  fundamental  pact, 
or  which,  in  virtue  of  this  pact,  it  has  contracted  by  its 
consent  to  common  resolutions. 

IV.  The  resolutions  of  the  Diet,  given  in  legal  form, 
beini;^  the  result  of  the  united  wish  of  the  Governments 
which  form  the  Bund,  and  consequently  obligatory  on 
the  whole  and  on  each  member  of  the  federation,  it  fol- 

A  A  2 


356  CONFERENCES   AT   VIENNA. 

lows  that,  for  all  the  common  business  of  the  Bund, 
the  supreme  legislative  power  rests  in  the  Diet. 

This  principle,  incontestable  in  itself,  leads  us  to  the 
important  question  of  defining  those  subjects  which  may 
be  considered  as  the  common  business  of  the  Bund. 
The  elements  for  resolving  this  question  are  found 
either  in  the  text  of  the  Federal  Act  itself  or  in  a  simple 
and  natural  interpretation  of  its  dispositions.  But,  the 
precise  determination  of  the  sphere  of  legal  activity — 
or,  as  it  was  formerly  called,  of  the  competence  of  the 
Diet — is  a  task  with  which  the  present  meeting  must  and 
ought  to  occupy  itself;  and  his  Imperial  Majesty  is  of 
opinion  that,  both  from  the  importance  of  the  thing  and 
on  account  of  the  facilities  which  will  result  from  it  for 
the  whole  of  our  labours,  it  would  be  well  to  give  this 
question  the  priority  in  order.  The  question  of  com- 
petence being  directly  connected  with  that  of  votes  in 
the  transactions  of  the  Diet,  this  question  will  make  a 
natural  transition  to  Article  I.  in  the  table  of  subjects 
for  deliberation.* 

•  For  the  further  progress  of  the  Vienna  Ministerial  Conferences  and 
their  results  see  the  documents  Nos.  408  to  476. — Ed. 


357 


EVENTS   OF  THE  DAT,  AND   FAMILY  LIFE. 

1820. 

Extracts  from  Metternich's  private  Correspondence  from  January  8 
to  May  15,  1820. 

381.  The  Conferences.  382.  Reminiscences  occasioned  by  the  appearance  of 
Koch's  '  History  of  the  War  of  18U.'  383.  Praise  hy  the  '  Moniteur.' 
384.  The  Prince's  convalescence.  385.  Description  of  Metternich's  apart- 
ments in  the  Chancellery.  38G.  Prince  of  Hesse  sent  to  London  to  offer 
congratulations  to  the  new  King.  387.  Assassination  of  the  Duke  of 
35erry.  388.  Longing  for  air  and  sun.  389.  Anxiety  respecting  Princess 
Clementine — Capo  d'Istria.  390.  Metternich's  double  nature.  391 ,  392, 
393,  394.  On  Princess  Clementine.  395.  '  History  of  Cromwell,'  by  Ville- 
niaine.  396.  Flies  and  spiders.  397.  Conclusion  of  the  Conference. 
398.  Metternich's  property  at  Bodensee.  399.  Significance  of  the  cries 
for   Burdett    &    Co.      400.  Clementine's   convalescence.      401.  Relapse. 

402.  The  situation  still  more  grave — Clementine's  portrait  by  Lawrence. 

403.  Approaching  dissolution.  404.  Death  of  Clementine.  405.  Her 
beauty.  40G.  Metternich's  birthday— signature  of  the  final  act  of  the 
Conference.     407.  The  family  party  reassembled. 

381.  Vierina,  January/  8,  1820. — I  have  worked 
to-day  like  a  galley  slave  ;  the  conferences  have  lasted 
quite  fifteen  hours.  I  cannot,  however,  complain  of  it, 
because  our  business  goes  on  so  well.  Never  perhaps 
have  I  found  more  unanimity,  a  better  spirit  or  a  better 
will.  Poor  Capo  d'Istria  has  taken  quite  a  wrong  stand- 
point for  his  last  circular.*  Surely  a  man  cannot  avoid 
compromising  himself  when  he  informs  people  of  the 
contrary  of  what  they  know,  what  they  alone  can  know, 
and  what  cannot  be  judged  of  six  hundred  miles  off. 

•  Apparently  an  allusion  to  some  circular  of  Cape  d'Istria's,  by  which 
Russia  endeavoured  to  excite  the  smaller  German  Courts  to  withstand  Met- 
ternich's claims. — Ed. 


358     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

....  How  few  are  the  statesmen  who  deserve  the 
name ;  each  one  thinks  he  can  meddle  in  affairs  at  a 
•moment  when  all  ideas  are  confused,  when  nothing  is 
so  rash  as  to  form  a  judgment  on  the  gravest  and  most 
difficult  affairs.  It  is  the  fate  of  those  men  who  have 
no  principle  and  little  knowledge  to  form  a  world 
of  their  own  and  place  events  in  it  as  they  wish. 
Theorisers  of  this  kind  see  what  does  not  exist,  believe 
the  contrary  of  what  is,  and  will  not  admit  any  truth 
which  conflicts  with  their  hypotheses.  But  since  there 
is  nothing  more  positive  than  fact,  and  nothing  more 
true  than  truth,  these  hypotheses  go  off  hke  rockets, 
which  when  once  they  have  burst,  do  not  equal  even 
the  most  feeble  light  which  burns  on  undisturbed.  And 
truth  remains  truth  in  spite  of  all  antagonists. 

382.  I  have  passed  a  strange  night.  A  history  of 
the  war  of  1814,  by  Koch,  has  just  appeared  in  Paris  : 
one  of  the  best  works  which  has  yet  been  written  on  * 
that  subject.  Apart  from  some  errors  which  an  author 
placed,  as  he  is,  outside  the  affairs  can  hardly  escape,  the 
book  contains  much  that  is  true.  I  took  this  book  to 
bed  with  me  yesterday  evening,  and  read  it  Avith  the 
greatest  interest.  To  read  the  history  of  an  important 
epoch  in  which  one  has  oneself  played  a  prominent  part 
is  a  most  curious  thing.  I  found  myself  placed  before 
posterity,  and  felt  called  upon  to  judge  myself.  During 
this  three  hours'  reading  I  did  not,  indeed,  feel  inclined 
to  accuse  myself;  but  how  much  could  I  have  added  to 
every  occurrence,  to  every  page,  indeed  to  every  hne  of 
the  book.  In  matters  of  fact  I  have  really  an  excellent 
memory  :  I  need  only  to  replace  myself  in  the  situation 
alluded  to,  and  tlie  whole  circumstance  and  everything 
connected  with  it  comes  clearly  before  my  eyes.  I 
found  the  account  of  the  violation  of  the  Swiss  frontiers 


KOCH'S   HISTORY   OF   THE   WAR.  359 

contained  in  eight  or  ten  lines — one  of  the  greatest 
events  at  the  beginning  of  that  campaign,  and  one  of 
the  very  greatest  influence  on  the  result  of  the  war. 
The  author  is,  indeed,  right  enough  in  attributing  to  me 
alone  the  full  use  which  was  made  of  this  event ;  but 
where  he  does  not  know,  he  romances.  How  is  it  pos- 
sible to  know  so  much  and  at  the  same  time  not  to 
know  so  much  as  the  author ! 

On  this  occasion  I  learned  what  the  will  of  one 
man  can  do  when  boldness  gives  such  a  one  the  feeling 
to  do  the  right  thing,  and  that  a  well-considered  plan 
carried  out  with  vic^our  is  sure  of  success.  In  regard 
to  this  affair,  I  was  at  that  time  alone  in  my  opposition 
to  the  Emperor  Alexander.  I  knew  everything,  both 
his  obhgations  and  the  enormous  compromises  which 
might  arise  therefrom  both  to  the  cause  and  to  myself  if 
I  held  fast  to  my  conviction — to  a  conviction  which  in- 
cluded both  the  excellence  of  the  plan  and  the  happy 
prospect  of  success.  And  see  !  I  have  not  deceived  my- 
self. The  outbursts  of  anger  have  passed  away,  and  the 
good  remains.  This  last  is  my  reward.  My  reading 
finished,  I  put  out  the  light,  and  turned  round  to  sleep. 
He  does  not  sleej),  however,  who  wills  to  do  so  :  I  lay 
there  with  1814  in  my  head  and  in  my  heart — that  year 
with  its  blessings,  its  prodigious  consequences,  its  gross 
errors  :  all  this  took  possession  of  my  mind,  and  I  could 
not  sleep  till  five  in  the  morning.  If  I  had  had  a  secre- 
tary near  me,  I  would  have  dictated  some  notes.  This 
was  another  historical  night. 

383.  January  27. — To-day  I  hear  everyone  fum- 
ing about  a  foolish  laudation  of  me  which  has  appeared 
in  the  '  Moniteur.'  What  do  people  want  ?  From  the 
moment  when  a  man  steps  on  the  stage  he  belongs  to 
the  public,  who  have  a  perfect  right  to  applaud  or  hiss, 


360     EXTRACTS   FEOM  METTERMCH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

and  who  make  use  of  the  right.  If  he  who  treads  the 
stage  does  but  possess  a  clear  character  and  right  feehng 
he  will  take  both  praise  and  blame  as  mere  reminders 
that  he  is  placed  in  the  foreground  ;  his  own  head  and 
his  own  heart  must  tell  him  whether  he  is  right  or 
wrong.     The  noise  is  nothing,  the  action  everything. 

To  me  undoubtedly,  I  openly  allow,  stupid  blame  is 
pleasanter  than  stupid  praise  :  the  first  may  amuse,  but 
cannot  anger  me  ;  the  latter,  on  the  contrary,  might 
make  me  treat  my  awkward  friend  somewhat  rudely. 

If  anyone  wishes  to  write  my  history,  let  him  leave 
full  freedom  to  the  judgment  of  posterity,  which  alone 
can  speak  with  authority  of  the  men  who  have  contri- 
buted to  make  the  history  of  their  time. 

384.  February  16. — I  have  returned  to  the  world 
again  *  ;■  to-morrow  evening  Ireopen  vaj  salons.  Already 
I  tremble  at  the  prospect  of  the  crowd  of  tii'esome 
people  whom  I  must  receive.  Nothing  delights  such 
people  more  than  a  death  or  a  return  to  hfe,  i.e.  the 
opportunity  of  condoling  or  congratulating.  If  it  were 
only  possible  that  this  cursed  race  would  confine  them- 
selves to  the  first  of  these  occasions,  at  least  as  far  as 
concerns  me  !  To  die  is  nothino; :  but  to  hve  for  these 
people — that  is  worse  to  me  than  death  ! 

385.  February  17. — Here  we  have  snow  ankle- 
deep.  The  winter  seems  as  if  it  would  never  have  done, 
which  is  dreadful  to  me,  for  I  have  my  garden,  and 
therefore  need  spring  and  air  and  sun.  Talking  of  the 
sun,  you  have  no  idea  how  beautiful  my  rooms  are  when 
the  sun  shines.  They  lie  to  the  south,  and  are  there- 
fore pleasant  and  warm,  and  I  can  hardly  guard  my 
furniture  from  its  beams.  I  have  a  spacious  ante-room, 
a  large  room  where  the  people  who  want  to  see  me  wait. 

•  The  Priuce  had  been  ill  for  twelve  days. — Ed. 


METTERNICH'S   ROOMS.  361 

This  opens  into  my  library,  wliicli  is  a  splendid  room. 
It  is  jEilled  quite  up  to  tlie  ceiling  witli  books  in  fme  open 
mahogany  shelves.  As  it  is  about  eighteen  feet  high,  my 
library  must  contain  nearly  15,000  volumes,  though  it 
does  not  look  as  if  there  were  so  many.  In  the  middle 
of  the  room  is  Canova's  beautiful  Venus,  whose  pedestal 
is  surrounded  by  a  circular  settee.  Then  comes  my 
study,  a  fine  large  room  with  three  windows  ;  in  this  are 
three  great  writing-tables.  I  like  to  change  my  place, 
and  I  do  not  like  to  be  disturbed  at  my  desk  by  anyone 
else  writing;  at  the  same  table.  This  room  is  full  of 
works  of  art,  pictures,  busts,  bronzes,  astronomical 
clocks,  and  all  kinds  of  instruments.  For  to  science  I 
gladly  dedicate  my  few  hours  of  leisure,  and  these  hours, 
if  lost  for  business,  are  a  gain  for  life.  The  large  table  in 
my  bedroom  is  covered  with  portfolios  of  engravings, 
maps,  and  drawings  ;  besides  which  I  have  a  considerable 
collection  of  works  of  art  arranged  under  glass.  I  am 
often  amused  at  the  distraction  of  strangers,  who  have 
to  make  out  their  visit  amid  such  a  varied  collection  of 
things. 

In  this  treasury  I  pass  seven-eighths  of  my  time. 
Why  should  I  not  surround  myself  with  all  these  objects 
so  dear  to  me  ?  I  live  unwillingly  in  small  rooms,  and 
still  more  unwillingly  work  in  them.  In  a  contracted 
space  the  mind  contracts,  the  thoughts  hide  themselves, 
and  even  the  heart  grows  withered. 

When  ray  children  are  good  their  mother,  as  a  re- 
ward, brings  them  to  pay  me  a  short  visit.  I  cannot 
.flatter  myself  that  the  children  come  so  gladly  from  love 
to  me.  It  seems  to  them  just  like  a  market,  for  my 
rooms  are  very  similar  to  shops.  There  is  no  artist  in 
Vienna,  nor  any  artist  who  comes  here,  who  does  not 
send  his  works  to  me.     There  are  always  easels  standmg 


362     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

about  with  new  pictures,  new  engravings,  new  drawings, 
which  the  worthy  artists  gladly  send  to  me  because  I 
see  and  receive  so  many  people. 

Whenever  I  have  a  grand  ball  my  hbrary  must  be 
used,  and  several  round  tables  are  placed  there,  on 
which  covers  can  be  laid  altogether  for  thirty-two.  The 
difficulty  then  is  the  Venus,  who  is  in  this  arrangement 
somewhat  embarrassing.  The  statue  is  indeed  of  the 
most  scrupulous  propriety  in  front,  which  cannot  per- 
haps so  well  be  said  of  the  back  view. 

386.  February  18. — The  Emperor  is  going  to  send 
the  Prince  of  Hesse  to  London  with  his  congratulations 
to  the  new  King.  This  is  in  every  respect  an  excellent 
choice.  His  first  adjutant  is  Count  Lato  Wrbna,  one  of 
our  most  fashionable  young  men,  and  a  good  fellow  too, 
whom  for  his  improvement  I  lately  sent  to  Brazil,  where 
he  went  through  some  remarkable  adventures.  On 
board  a  pirate  ship  a  young  and  very  pretty  Spanish 
lady  wanted  to  have  him  hanged  ;  she  implored  on  her 
knees  that  they  would  fasten  him  upon  the  great  mast, 
because  she  had  never  seen  this  proceeding,  and  Count 
Wrbna  seemed  to  her  to  be  the  most  splendid  model  for 
it.  What  can  the  women  all  have  in  their  heads? 
Their  fancies  are  unfathomable  ! 

387.  February  20. — I  have  just  heard  of  the  assas- 
sination of  the  Due  de  Berry.  Liberahsm  goes  its  way  ; 
it  rains  murders  ;  there  have  been  already  four  Sands  in 
nine  months. 

All  is  lost  in  France  if  the  Government  does  not  turn 
round.  Those  who  are  deluded  by  the  ruffians  are  in-, 
deed  children,  but  the  criminals  are  no  children.  I 
know  the  element  of  intrigue  which  the  Government  has 
now  taken  up,  in  the  delusion  that  it  would  be  an  ele- 
ment of  strength.     That  is  certainly  the  strength  of  a 


CLEMENTINE.  3G3 

wild  animal,  that  will  never  allow  itself  to  be  civilised. 
It  must  be  admitted  that  this  is  not  a  pleasant  moment 
for  a  minister. 

388.  February  25. — I  really  hunger  and  thirst  for 
my  garden  on  the  Rennweg  ;  for  a  whole  long  month  I 
have  not  been  able  to  pay  it  a  visit.  My  room  is  full  of 
the  most  beautiful  flowers  from  my  conservatories,  but 
that  is  not  the  one  thing  which  charms  me.  I  long  for 
air  and  sunshine.  I  am  a  child  of  light,  and  need  bril- 
liant light  to  be  able  to  hve.  People  who  are  really 
bad  have  no  such  need. 

389.  March  16. — I  have  the  gravest  fears  for  my  poor 
Clementine.  She  has  now  for  the  third  time  an  attack 
of  fever.  She  had  the  first  on  January  22,  the  second 
on  February  20,  and  now  she  is  again  attacked  with  se- 
vere fever.  She  is  in  such  a  state  of  exhaustion  that  it 
is  impossible  to  see  how  she  is  to  get  over  it.  I  cannot 
see  a  being  so  dear  to  me  suffer.  Clementine  is,  besides, 
so  good  a  child,  and  so  attached  to  me  that  she  will  have 
me  constantly  near  her  bed.  Since  her  illness  she  has 
grown  four  inches.  In  December  she  was  still  small : 
now  she  is  quite  tall.  Although  she  is  fifteen,  she  is 
still  quite  a  child.  I  have  a  kind  of  superstition  which 
experience  has  unhappily  strengthened  in  me.  The  ex- 
traordinary is  always  attended  with  more  dangers  than 
the  ordinary.  Clementine,  for  instance,  is  remarkably 
pretty  ;  it  must  really  be  so,  for  when  she  goes  out  the 
people  gather  round  her.  1  would  rather  she  were  a 
child  of  more  common  appearance,  for  such  children 
grow  like  weeds.  I  have  to-day  summoned  eight  ma- 
tadores  of  the  faculty  to  a  consultation — I  myself  being 
present — and  all  the  physicians  were  of  the  same  opinion. 
To  my  heavy  heart  is  added  the  severe  task  that  is  laid 
upon  me.     Our  great  work  approaches  its  end.     The 


364     EXTPvACTS   FROM   METTERNICirS   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

complete  confidence  of  my  fellow-workers  is  beneficial, 
but  burdensome.  Amid  all  the  confusion  Capo  d'Istria 
continually  whispers  in  my  ear.  He  reminds  me  of  a 
musical  amateur  who  practises  on  the  bugle  in  the  next 
room.  He  blows  extremely  hard  without  ever  getting 
a  tune.  His  expenditure  of  breath  is  enormous,  but 
nothing  crood  comes  of  it.  All  is  wroncr — wrons"  time, 
wrong  notes,  wrong  key ;  piano  tones  where  forte  are 
necessary ;  sostenuto  where  it  should  be  con  brio ;  largo 
in  the  quickest  time,  with  ohbligato  accompaniments.  If 
there  is  really  any  sense  in  it,  I  have  none.  With  such 
sense  as  that,  France  will  come  to  a  1789  or  a  February 
13.  Good  heavens,  why  is  it  that  so  many  fools  are 
thoroughly  good  men,  as  is  the  case  with  Capo  d'Istria  ? 
If  they  were  not,  some  way  would  be  found  of  making 
them  harmless  ;  but  as  it  is  they  must  be  heard,  and 
they  and  their  nonsense  must  be  admitted  to  the  debates. 

390.  March  22. — My  poor  Clementine  is  still  very 
ill.  Nothing  breaks  me  down  like  a  sick  child  ;  never 
anxious  about  myself,  I  am  always  so  for  the  children. 
There  are,  indeed,  no  new  bad  symptoms,  but  I  hold  that 
in  itself  the  long  continuance  of  the  fever  is  very  serious. 

Meanwhile,  whether  I  like  it  or  not,  I  must  sit  for 
many  hours  at  my  writing-table.  In  painful  moments 
like  the  present  it  is  more  than  ever  necessary  to  turn 
my  second  nature  outside — that  nature  which  makes 
many  people  believe  that  I  have  no  heart.  They  would 
deny  me  a  head,  too,  if  I  did  not  occasionally  let  them 
know  that  it  remains  firm  wlien  they  knock  at  it. 

My  news  of  the  Emperor  Alexander  shows  that 
people  where  he  is  are  aware  that  phrases  ruin  the 
world,  but  save  no  one. 

'      391.  I  am  still  thoroughly  miserable.    My  daughter, 
indeed,  is   a  little  better,  but  has  stiU  so  many  hiUs  to 


CLEMENTINE,  365 

climb  before  level  country  is  readied  that  a  father  cannot 
feel  easy.  My  only  hope  is  in  God,  who  knows  better 
than  we  poor  men  what  is  right  and  good.  I  go  from 
my  writing-table  to  the  sick  bed,  and  back  again.  If 
my  heart  is  restless,  so  are  also  my  nights,  which  never 
happens  to  me  when  my  head  only  is  in  question  :  a  proof 
what  a  quite  different  power  the  heart  has — ^just  that 
heart  which  is  denied  me  by  the  crowd. 

392.  March  30. — My  poor  Clementine's  condition 
improves  very  slowly.  He  who  has  children  himself 
knows  what  anxiety  is  caused  by  a  sick  child.  It  is 
not  enough  for  me  to  know  that  those  I  love  are  happy. 
I  want  them  also  to  be  prosperous.  Heaven,  if  it  sees 
fit,  will  protect  them. 

In  a  position  like  mine,  in  which  one  is  smothered 
with  business  for  twelve  hours  every  day,  it  is  a  real 
happiness  to  spend  some  leisure  moments  in  the  family 
circle.  If  then  received  by  the  children  with  joy,  the 
whole  world  takes  a  different  colour.  In  my  family 
circle  it  is  unhappily  to-day  most  gloomy,  and  I  go  from 
the  Eevolutionists  and  Demagogues  who  people  my 
study,  to  fmd  care  and  sorrow  in  the  sick  room. 

393.  April  2. — The  doctors  are  more  cheerful ; 
they  think  I  should  smile,  which  the  father's  heart  can- 
not yet  succeed  in. 

I  am  finishing  the  building  of  my  garden  house  ;  it 
onlj'-  wants  the  last  touches,  it  will  be  quite  a  museum 
of  works  of  art.  The  fine  arts  are  indeed  cood  friends  ; 
they  are  always  to  be  found  ;  their  company  always 
delights,  and  their  cultus  never  leads  to  disappoint- 
ment. 

Lawrence,  whom  I  expected,  unhappily  cannot  come 
to  Vienna.  He  is  a  man  fidl  of  mind  and  heart,  and  I 
am  vain  enough  to  believe  that  he  hkes  me.    I  wrote  to 


36()     EXTRACTS  FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRFV'ATE   LETTERS. 

him  yesterday  that  he  is  made  a  member  of  the  Aca- 
demy here.  He  may  perhaps  attribute  less  vakie  to  this 
nomination  than  to  the  circumstance  that  I  have  ob- 
tained it  for  him. 

394.  Ap7nl  8. — My  daughter's  fate  still  seems 
doubtful.  For  me,  alas  !  it  is  already  decided.  If  she 
remains  with  me,  I  shall  take  it  as  a  gift  from  Heaven. 
From  earthly  help  I  expect  nothing  more.  It  is  her 
age  which  makes  me  most  anxious.  For  the  last  eight 
days  she  has  not  grown  worse,  but  neither  has  she  im- 
proved. No  one  can  imagine  how  miserable  this  state 
of  things  makes  me.  The  happiness  of  my  life  consists 
of  such  simple  elements  that  at  least  these  might  be  left 
to  me. 

395.  April  10. — Society,  hke  nature  and  hke  man, 
has  adopted  laws  of  its  own.  Old  institutions  are  like 
old  men,  they  will  never  be  young  again ;  but  the 
moderns  must  go  through  their  young  time  of  lawless- 
ness and  folly.  Man  cannot  make  a  constitution  pro- 
perly speaking  :  that  is  made  only  by  time.  Just  as 
little  is  a  Charta  a  constitution  as  the  marriaije  contract 
is  the  marriage.  Let  people  write  as  much  as  they 
like — and  the  less  will  always  be  the  better — and  yet 
you  will  have  nothing  in  your  hand  but  a  sheet  of  paper. 
England  alone  has  a  Constitution,  of  which  the  Magna 
Charta  is  but  a  subordinate  element.  The  Enijlish  Con- 
stitution  is  the  work  of  centuries,  and,  moreover,  streams 
of  blood  and  anarchy  of  every  kind  supplied  the  means. 
Social  order  ever  progresses  in  this  way ;  it  cannot  be 
otherwise,  since  it  is  the  law  of  nature.  What  is  called 
a  constitution  to-day  is  notliing  but  '  otez-vous  de  la  que 
je  my  mette.'  What  in  quiet  times  disappears  like  foam, 
is  lashed  by  the  tempest  into  great  waves,  and  the  moral 
like  the  material  world  has  its  storms.     If  it  be  asked 


CLEMENTINE.  367 

whether  the  revokition  will  flood  the  whole  of  Europe, 
1  cannot  wager  against  it,  but  of  this  I  am  determined, 
that  I  will  fight  against  it  till  my  latest  breath. 

The  '  History  of  Cromwell,'  by  Villemain,  has  ap- 
peared in  Paris  :  a  good  book  which  the  author  has 
flung  into  a  world  haunted  everywhere  by  Cromwell. 
Pohtical  madness,  rehgious  madness,  is  seen  in  all 
classes  of  society  and  in  the  army ;  usurpation,  demo- 
cracy, despotism,  or  weakness  in  the  Government ;  a 
low  state  of  feeling  in  men  ;  brilliant  surfaces  and  decay- 
ing bodies  ;  lastly,  a  general  relaxation — these  are  always 
the  first  symptoms  at  all  times  and  in  all  places,  of  the 
return  to  order.  The  dead  speak  no  more,  but  their 
sons  return  ever  and  anon  to  their  frenzies,  the  names 
of  which,  indeed,  are  altered.  They  call  them  Eeason, 
and  give  to  the  new  discovery  of  old  errors  the  name  of 
the  Society  of  Man. 

396.  April  11. — The  invahd  is  in  the  same  con- 
dition ;  fresh  medical  consultations  only  amuse  us  with 
hope  for  the  future.  Nothing  pleases  me,  for  happiness 
is  not  without  us,  but  within. 

My  garden  house  is  gay,  but  I  am  sad.  Great  beds 
of  hyacinths  and  narcissuses  difl'use  their  fragrance  far 
and  wide  ;  to  me  they  all  seem  withered.  It  is  best  for 
me  to  be  at  my  writing-table,  because  there  I  am  obhged 
to  think  of  something  else.  Capo  dTstria  still  gives  me 
some  trouble  ;  but  he  does  not  catch  me.  I  begin  to  know 
the  world  well,  and  I  believe  that  the  flies  are  only  eaten 
up  by  the  spiders  because  they  die  naturally  so  young 
that  they  have  no  time  to  gain  experience  and  do  not 
know  what  is  the  nature  of  the  spider's  web.  My  axiom 
is  all  the  more  correct,  because  it  is  impartial,  for  the 
real  spiders  interest  me.  I  very  often  watch  them,  they 
are  the  best  barometers,  and,  their  ughness  apart,  they 


368     EXTEACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

are    quite  dear  little    animals   always  busy,    arranging 
their  dwellings  in  the  neatest  manner. 

397.  ^J/^nY  13. — I  have  this  day  undertaken  to  read 
through  the  copy  of  our  conferences.  This  great  and 
important  work  will  be  concluded  in  spite  of  the  joy 
which  all  Eadicals  would  have  felt  if  it  had  been  other- 
wise ;  it  is  a  legislative  work  of  the  very  highest  order.* 

398.  April  19. — I  still  lead  a  quite  wonderful  life  ; 
I  am  everywhere  and  nowhere.  I  have  estates  which  I 
have  never  seen,  and  among  them  some  which  I  hear 
travellers  describe  as  paradise.  Among  others  a  castle 
on  the  lake  of  Constance,  wliich  commands  the  whole 
lake  and  gives  a  panorama  of  Switzerland.  I  have  only 
once  staid  a  night  at  the  castle,  and  then  I  arrived  at 
eight  in  the  evening  and  had  to  leave  again  at  four  in 
the  morning  ;  for  a  courier  who  arrived  during  the  night 
urged  me  not  to  lose  a  moment.  If  only  Heaven  had 
given  me  for  some  consolation  the  smallest  portion  of 
that  ambition  which  finds  an  enjoyment  on  the  most 
trifling  occasion  which  it  never  offers  to  me  !  Ambition 
I  have,  but  it  is  of  so  grave  a  kind  that  its  enjoyments 
are  like  those  of  virtue.  My  ambition  is  to  do  well  what 
I  have  to  do,  and  to  combat  evil  wherever  I  find  it.  It 
is  just  this  circumstance  which  gives  me  so  cold  a  tinge, 
which  comes  not  simply  from  patience  but  rather  from 
perseverance.  To  me  it  is  really  nothing  to  work  ;  titles 
and  so-called  honours  are  indifferent  to  me.  I  am  much 
more  loaded  with  them  than  I  desire,  and  if  they  were 
taken  away,  I  should  hardly  remark  it.  Posterity  will 
judge  me — the  only  judgment  which  I  covet,  the  only 
one  to  which  I  am  not  indifferent,  and  which  I  shall 
never  know. 

399.  April  20. — Many  people  would  be  delighted 

•  See  No.  476.— Ed. 


metternich's  youth.  369 

to  make  their  entry  in  a  Eoman  car  of  triumph  amid  the 
noisy  shouts  of  some  thousand  bawlers.  I  do  not  care 
for  triumphal  cars  or  cries ;  the  shouts  of  the  mob  are 
worth  nothing.  Rejoicings  are  only  worth  anything 
when  the  angels  smile  and  evil  spirits  flee.  A  man  must 
be  like  me,  born  and  brought  up  amid  the  storm  of 
poHtics,  to  know  what  is  the  precise  meaning  of  a  shout 
of  triumph  like  those  which  now  burst  forth  from 
Burdett  and  Co.  He  may  have  read  of  it,  but  I  have  seen 
it  with  my  eyes.  I  have  lived  at  the  same  time  as  the 
Federation  of  1789.  I  was  fifteen,  and  already  a  man. 
The  most  beautiful  sun  beamed  on  a  hundred  thousand 
enthusiasts  who  all  believed  in  the  dawn  of  the  Golden 
Age.  I  was  under  a  tutor  who  in  the  year  1793  was  an 
intimate  friend  of  Eobespierre,  and  on  August  10  pre- 
sided over  the  Committee  of  Marseillese  ;  this  tutor  was 
the  best  man  in  the  world ;  he  wept  for  joy,  and  filled 
the  whole  world  with  his  love  and  his  philanthropy.  I 
was  his  scholar,  but,  nevertheless,  my  heart  was  absorbed 
in  misery. 

400.  Clementine's  condition  seems  to  be  something 
better,  but  if  all  goes  well  her  restoration  will  yet  be  a 
work  of  time.  But  this  long  time  is  dearer  to  me  than 
the  moment  when  I  must  give  her  up  entirely.  She  is  a 
quiet,  good  child.  The  day  before  yesterday  she  said  to 
me  that  she  liad  the  feelins' of  comin^?  back  to  life  asjain, 
and  was  greatly  delighted,  because  she  would  now  have 
all  the  longer  time  to  show  me  how  much  she  was  at- 
tached to  me.  It  seems  that  the  leech  which  was  lately 
put  on  her  throat  gave  much  relief.  An  inflammatory 
complaint  which  has  now  lasted  three  months  is  indeed 
severe.  Unhappily,  she  feels  very  much  the  return  of 
cold  weather  ;  she  is  quite  benumbed  with  it. 

401.  April  29. — The  improvement  was,  alas !   of 
VOL.  III.  B  B 


370     EXTRACTS  FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

short  duration.  The  uiflammation  returned  next  day, 
and  in  a  few  hours  it  took  the  form  of  severe  inflam- 
mation of  the  hmgs.  On  three  successive  days  she 
had  to  be  bled.  This  excessive  loss  of  blood  after  an 
illness  of  three  months  must  weaken  her  dreadfully,  so 
tliat  we  can  no  longer  hope  to  save  her.  There  are 
cases  where  the  remedy  seems  worse  than  the  disease 
itself. 

402.  Clementine's  condition  grows  still  more 
serious  ;  it  is  now  evident  that  this  last  inflammation 
has  attacked  her  lungs  most  severely.  To-day  she  was  so 
ill  that  the  physicians  expected  her  end.  In  the  course 
of  the  afternoon  she  had  sat  up  for  some  moments. 
She  then  went  back  so  that  four-and-twenty  hours 
afterwards  she  lay  in  a  deathlike  stupor. 

Yesterday  the  portrait  of  Clementine,  by  Lawrence, 
arrived  from  Florence.  I  intended  to  leave  the  box  for 
a  month  unopened.  Clementine,  during  her  lethargy, 
must  have  heard  us  speak  of  it.  The  first  conscious 
words  she  said  to  me  were  to  ask  me  to  unpack  the 
picture  and  show  it  to  her.  I  allowed  it  to  be  brought. 
She  smiled  at  the  picture,  and  said  :  '  Lawrence  seems 
to  have  painted  me  in  heaven,  for  he  has  surrounded 
me  with  clouds  ! '  She  wished  to  have  the  portrait 
placed  upon  her  bed.  This,  however,  we  could  not  do 
■ — hfe  and  death  cannot  be  placed  so  close  together. 

To-day  Clementine  performed  her  devotions.  For 
several  days  she  had  imploringly  begged  to  do  so.  She 
seems  not  to  have  the  least  fear  of  death.  She  is  per- 
fectly calm. 

Worn  as  I  am  with  this  agitation,  I  have  still  to 
go  through  long  conferences.  Yesterday  I  had  one  of 
the  plenipotentiaries  with  me  in  my  room  when  they 
brought  me  word  that  the  physicians  had  assembled, 


CLEMENTINE.  371 

and  were  waiting  for  me  in  the  sick  room.  When  I 
got  up  to  go,  my  visitor  said  to  me  :  '  Pardon  me,  allow 
me  to  draw  your  attention  to  some  of  the  Rhine  tolls ! ' 
I  assured  him  that  I  must  go,  though  the  Rhine  should 
flow  back  to  its  source  !  The  man  stood  there  quite 
confounded,  and  I  left  him  with  astonishment  on  his 
face  that  anyone  should  do  business  in  that  way.  But 
my  first  business  is  the  preservation  of  my  happiness — 
a  business  which,  indeed,  I  do  not  often  follow. 

403.  Elegies  do  not  belong  to  my  character.  I 
cannot  lament.  Heaven  has  doomed  me  to  suffer  in 
silence. 

Clementine  gets  rapidly  worse ;  her  departure  may 
take  place  any  day.  She  does  not  suffer — indeed,  that 
follows  from  the  nature  of  her  illness,  which  is,  never- 
theless, very  severe.  Feeling  and  duty  chain  me  to 
her  bed.  I  suffer  more  than  she  does.  She  is  generally 
unconscious,  and  her  dreams  are  sweet  but  they  are  all 
amono-  the  fields  where  in  imacrination  she  is  wan- 
dering.  To-day  she  had  herself  turned  round  in  bed. 
To  my  question  why  she  did  so,  she  replied :  '  I  do  not 
want  always  to  see  the  same  things  ; '  but  added  imme- 
diately, 'Look  at  that  bed  [a  second  bed  had  been 
placed  in  the  room,  to  make  a  change  for  her]  ^  is  it  not 
extraordinary  that  they  give  me  a  stone  bed  ? '  I 
replied  that  she  was  mistaken :  that  the  second  bed  was 
hunfj  with  muslin.  '  Stone  or  mushn,'  said  she,  '  both 
are  ahke  to  me ;  both  are  white,  and  that  j)leases  me.' 
Her  presentiments  guide  her  more  correctly  than  her 
reason.  I  do  not  believe  that  she  can  last  more  than 
three  days.  Her  face  is  quite  disfigured,  and  Lawrence 
himself  would  not  know  her.  Her  features  are  only  to 
be  recognised  if  she  smiles  ;  but  this  smile  comes  from 
a  heavenly  rather  than  an  earthly  being. 

BB2 


372     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

404.  May  11. — Our  worst  fears  were  realised  on 
tlie  Gtli.  At  half-past  nine  on  the  evening  of  the  5th 
my  wife  called  me.  Clementine  was  greatly  distressed. 
I  hurried  to  her,  and  I  had  only  to  look  at  her  and  feel 
her  pulse  to  know  that  her  dissolution  was  at  hand.  In 
spite  of  every  remedy  she  became  worse  and  worse,  so 
that  at  one  moment  I  thought  she  was  gone.  It  was 
but  a  swoon,  from  which  she  revived  and  regained  her 
full  consciousness.  She  asked  for  her  confessor,  and  at 
midnight  breathed  her  last  gently  and  calmly  as  she 
always  was  in  hfe.  I  learn  from  her  confessor  that  she 
had  expected  her  death  for  the  last  fortnight,  and  only 
the  fear  of  grieving  us  gave  her  strength  enough  to 
show  the  greatest  calmness  with  respect  to  her  state. 
After  her  last  attack  she  implored  that  she  might 
receive  the  sacrament,  under  the  pretext  that  it  was 
Eastertide.  Her  confessor,  who  had  also  been  her 
tutor  for  ten  years,  gave  her  some  excellent  counsel 
respecting  her  future  ;  but  she  answered  very  quietly, 
with  a  smile,  '  What  you  say  is  beautiful  and  good,  but 
it  is  nothing  to  me :  my  future  is  not  here  below  ! '  Thus 
died  the  innocent,  who  has  now  no  remembrances  and 
no  pain.  The  next  morning  I  took  my  wife  to  my 
daughter  Marie,  where  I  stayed  two  days.  Business 
called  me  back,  and  I  have  despatched  it  as  one  might 
empty  a  cup  of  poison. 

405.  May  12. — I  am  still  here  alone.  My  wife 
and  my  son  are  mth  Marie.  I  work  and  think  of  my 
misfortune.  A  most  beautiful  being  has  been  snatched 
from  the  world.  There  is  in  society  here  a  lady  who  is 
very  like  my  daughter  ;  when  I  met  her  yesterday  I 
was  overcome  with  tears. 

I  can  truly  say  that  I  have  a  certain  anxiety  about 
all  very  lovely  girls.  The  cause  of  their  beauty  is  mostly 


CLEMENTINE'S   DEATH.  373 

the  cause  of  their  death.  Too  great  dehcacy  in  the  fea- 
tures, a  quite  transparent  skin,  a  certain  blending  in  the 
figure,  are  all  proofs  of  an  extremely  tender  organism.  A 
chmate  like  ours  acts  on  such  a  one  like  the  north  wind 
on  the  flowers  of  spring.  I  have,  happily,  the  gift  of 
keeping  my  feehngs  to  myself,  even  when  my  heart  is 
half  broken.  Of  this  I  have  given  certain  proof  during 
the  last  months.  The  thirty  men  with  whom  I  sit 
daily  at  the  conference  table  have  certainly  never 
guessed  what  I  was  going  through  while  I  talked  for 
three  or  four  hours,  and  dictated  hundreds  of  pages. 

406.  May  15.— On  this  day  in  the  year  1773, 
precisely  at  twelve  o'clock,  I  was  presented  to  the 
world.  On  the  same  day,  forty-seven  years  afterwards, 
I  have  sig-ned  the  final  act  of  our  conferences.  We 
sat  together  the  whole  day  yesterday,  and  we  might 
have  come  to  an  end  then  if  my  colleagues  —  or, 
rather,  my  children — had  not  wished  to  celebrate  my 
birthday  by  the  conclusion  of  our  work. 

Seven-and-forty  years  is  a  long  time,  quite  too  long. 
I  have,  in  this  weary  life,  thank  God,  preserved  that 
strong  vitality  of  heart  which  is  a  preservative  against 
the  passing  away  of  any  feeling.  At  twenty  I  was  the 
same  man  I  am  to-day.  I  was  alwaj^s  what  I  am,  good 
or  bad,  strong  or  weak. 

407.  May  16. — The  family  circle  has  assembled 
again.  My  wife  does  not  leave  the  room  in  which  my 
daughter  died.  She  has  collected  around  her  every- 
thing which  belonged  to  her.  I  cannot  enter  the  room 
without  tears,  and  I  soon  return  to  my  business,  which 
makes  a  barrier  between  me  and  myself. 


374 


EXCURSION  INTO  BOHEMIA  AND   COBURG. 

Extracts  from  Metternich's  private  Correspondence  from  May  27 
to  July  9,  1820. 

408.  From  Prague — Palais  Fiirsteuberg.  409.  Marriage  of  the  Archduke 
Rainer  with  Princess  von  Carignan.  410.  Recollections  of  Prague. 
411.  The  same.  412.  From  Theresienstadt — reflections.  413.  From 
Carlsbad  —  Count  Czernin.  414.  From  Konigswart — at  Clementine's 
D-rave.  415.  Business.  416.  Managrement  of  two  earthenware  manu- 
factories — the  pitcher  goes  to  the  well  till  it  breaks.  417.  Arrival  of 
Queen  Caroline  in  Dover.  418.  Mineral  waters  at  Konigswart.  419. 
Visit  of  Prince  Scbonburg.  420.  Plan  for  a  family  vault.  421.  At 
Rosenau — reception  in  Coburg— popular  festival.  422,  Inspection  of  the 
country  in  company  with  the  Duke.  423.  Plans  for  the  Castle  at 
Coburg — Queen  Caroline  of  England.  424.  From  Franzensbad — victory 
over  Capo  d'Istria.     425.  The  London  allair. 

408.  Prague,  May  27,  1820.— I  live  here  at  the 
Palais  Flirstenberg,  the  same  Prince  who  married  a 
Princess  of  Baden  last  year.  He  is  having  his  house 
put  in  order,  to  settle  here  next  August  with  his  young 
wife.  If  the  Prince  comes,  and  is  not  beside  himself 
with  anger,  he  must  be  the  most  tasteless  man  that  ever 
existed.  His  steward  received  me  yesterday,  and  con- 
ducted me  through  an  immense  suite  of  rooms.  When 
I  saw  the  way  they  were  decorated  I  did  not  know  how 
to  keep  my  countenance.  Wherever  the  hand  of  the 
artist  or  artisan  was  busy,  sculptures,  pictures,  furni- 
ture, hangings,  and  other  works  stare  at  the  spectator 
like  the  phantasmagoria  of  a  fever  dream.  The  great 
chairs  in  the  chief  saloon  of  black  pohshed  wood  stand 
on  four  gilded  eagles'  claws,  and  at  their  backs,  in  the 
form  of  a  shield,  are  different  arrangements  of  cupids 


PALAIS   FURSTENBERG.  375 

and  ea2;les  in  mlded  wood.  The  furniture  is  of  blue 
damask,  ornamented  with  white  mushn  in  great  bunches, 
and  edged  with  gold  and  silver,  intermixed  with  green 
and  red  colours.  All  the  rooms  are  alike.  The  two 
beds  in  the  principal  bedroom  are  hung  with  what 
represents  shell-work  and  rock-work — on  Avliich  are 
squirrels  (as  thick  as  your  fist),  toads,  and  bats  of  gilded 
wood — and  stand  in  an  alcove,  at  the  entrance  of 
which  hangs  a  lamp  in  the  shape  of  a  colossal  owl, 
which  draws  a  globe  out  of  the  satin  hangings  ;  if  the 
globe  is  covered  the  hght  shines  from  the  eyes  of  the 
owl.  This  horrible  steward  wished  to  hear  my  opinion 
of  all  these  arrangements.  I  asked  him  whether  his 
master  had  sent  him  the  designs  for  everything.  He 
assured  me,  with  an  expression  of  the  greatest  self-satis- 
faction, that  this  was  not  the  case — he  and  the  upholsterer 
had  prepared  all  these  things  as  surprises  for  the  good 
Prince.  '  How  delighted  the  Prince  will  be,'  said  he, 
'  when  he  learns  that  all  these  beautiful  things  have  only 
cost  80,000  gulden.' 

The  steward  wished  me  to  sleep  opposite  this  owl. 
I  assured  him  that  I  could  not  be  the  first  to  desecrate 
their  Excellencies'  marriage-bed,  and  betook  myself  to 
a  room  at  the  back,  in  which  there  were  neither  owls 
nor  cupids.  Hardly  was  I  left  alone  in  this  room  when 
a  clock  began  to  strike  which  made  as  much  noise  as  a 
church  bell.  I  got  up  to  seek  for  the  clock,  but  in 
vain.  At  last  I  found  a  small  picture,  represent- 
ing a  village  with  a  church,  on  the  tower  of  which  was 
a  clock,  which  struck  so  loudly  that  it  could  be  heard 
four  houses  off.  As  I  did  not  wish  to  lose  my  night's 
rest,  I  had  the  unlucky  picture  taken  down  and  put 
away.  I  lay  down,  when  just  at  midnight  a  flute  began 
tC)  play  quite  close  to  my  bed.     Looking  about,  I  founds 


376     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

it  was  my  niglit-table  which  made  this  noise.  After 
long  search  I  found  a  knob,  by  pressing  which  the 
musical  box  close  to  my  ear  was  temporarily  silenced ; 
but  from  time  to  time  it  repeated  its  efforts  to  go  off 
again,  sounding  something  like  suppressed  groans.  This 
morning,  early,  I  sent  for  the  steward  and  begged 
him  to  take  away  this  piece  of  furniture,  as  I  did  not 
like  to  hear  music  at  such  unusual  hours.  '  It  is  the 
somnoj  answered  the  good  man,  '  which  I  had  made  for 
the  Princess  ;  the  Prince's  niglit-table  contains  a  trumpet.' 
'  Good  heavens  ! '  I  cried, '  then  do  not  their  Excellencies 
sleep  at  all  ? '  '0  yes,'  answered  the  steward  ;  '  but 
young  married  people  are  easily  tired,  and  that  makes 
them  sleep  :  besides,  the  music  can  be  stopped.'  '  But 
why,'  asked  I,'  should  there  be  any  music  to  be  stopped  ? ' 
'  Well  now,'  answered  he,  with  a  self-satisfied  air,  '  all 
sorts  of  pleasant  things  may  happen  to  the  Prince,  and 
then  he  has  always  a  trumpet  ready.'  This  is  all  hke  a 
dream  ;  but  I  would  not  advise  any  lady  to  have  a 
somno  that  plays  like  a  flute,  or  to  allow  her  husband 
a  hidden  trumpet.  Such  amusements  would  wake  up 
the  whole  neighbourhood. 

I  hope  to  sleep  well  to-night,  for  I  have  liad  the 
noisy  contrivances  one  and  all  removed,  to  the  great 
anger  of  the  steward.  I  am  certain  the  poor  man 
despised  me  heartily  for  my  stupidity  and  bad  taste. 

409.  May  28. — The  marriage  of  the  Archduke 
Rainer  with  the  Princess  of  Carignan  took  place  to-day. 
The  bride  is  very  lovely.  Although  she  is  half  a  head 
taller  than  I  am,  slie  has  a  pretty  figure.  Her  head  is 
particularly  fine,  her  eyes  long  and  tender,  her  nose  small 
and  finely  cut,  the  well-formed  mouth  conceals  the  most 
beautiful  teetli  I  have  ever  seen  ;  yet,  in  spite  of  all  these 
beauties,  I  cannot  think  so  lari^e  a  woman  charming. 


PRAGUE.  377 

410.  May  31. — The  memorable  epochs  at  which  I 
have  visited  this  town  followed  quickly  upon  one 
another.  In  the  year  1812  I  spent  two  months  here 
with  the  Empress  of  the  French,  and  in  1813  gave  her 
husband  his  death-blow. 

Yet,  what  to  me  is  all  that  has  rushed  through  my 
head  and  flowed  from  my  pen  during  my  public  life  ? 
My  hfe  may  be  unpleasant  for  me  to  experience,  but  my 
biography  will  certainly  not  be  tedious.  Especially  in- 
teresting must  be  the  years  which  I  have  passed  with 
Napoleon  as  if  we  were  playing  a  game  of  chess,  and 
during  which  the  object  of  both  was — I  to  checkmate  him, 
and  he  to  surround  me  with  all  his  pieces.  These  fifteen 
years  seem  to  me  to  have  passed  like  a  moment  of  time. 

411.  June  1. — This  day  seven  years  ago  I  left  Vienna 
to  accompany  the  Emperor,  when  he  went  to  place 
himself  at  the  head  of  the  troops  assembled  in  Bohemia 
At  that  very  time  I  found  Nesselrode  on  his  travels  in  a 
small  town  ;  he  thought  we  were  quietly  in  Vienna.  I 
gave  him  a  despatch  for  the  Emperor  Alexander,  which 
was  so  short  that  I  still  remember  every  word  of  it.  It 
ran  thus  :  '  Your  Majesty,  we  are  there ;  patience  and 
confidence  !  In  three  days  I  will  see  you,  and  in  six 
weeks  we  shall  be  your  allies.' 

Confidence  did  not  exist  then,  but  came  after  a 
time,  and  was  justified.  The  patience  could  not  be 
wanting,  because  we  were  quite  determined  not  to  move 
a  step  more  quickly. 

412.  Theresie?istadt,  June  7. — I  have  spent  half  a 
day  at  a  very  beautiful  estate.  The  whole  country  as 
far  as  Weltrus  *  is  adorned  by  nature.  The  park  is 
worthy  of  England. 

Often  when  I  have  happened  to  visit  a  hospitable 

*  An  estate  belonging  to  Count  Chotek. — Ed. 


378     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

domain  which,  far  from  the  world,  is  removed  from  all 
the  whirl  of  diplomacy,  I  feel  like  a  prisoner  who  dis- 
covers a  sunbeam.  This  light  is  not  for  me  ;  I  know 
that  it  is  only  shown  to  me  in  order  to  put  me  back  in 
my  dark  cell,  and  yet  my  heart  is  agitated  and  dreams 
of  a  happiness  M'ith  which  I  am  not  permitted  to 
enchain  myself.  I  am  certainly  one  of  the  men  least 
accessible  to  ambition,  and  most  accessible  to  happiness. 
Wherefore  has  fate  entangled  me  in  a  labyrinth  which 
never  leads  to  happiness  ?  We  have  a  saint  who  at- 
tained to  heaven  because  he  stood  on  a  column  for  I 
know  not  how  many  years  on  one  foot.  I,  though  I 
stand  on  two  feet,  may  yet  compare  myself  to  St. 
Simon  Stylites.  His  service  was  an  uncomfortable 
position — mine  is  not  better.  He  was  patient,  and  I,  too, 
have  given  many  proofs  of  that  virtue.  But  yet  I  fear 
that  I  shall  not  attain  to  heaven,  for  I  have  moments  of 
such  impatience  that  in  a  second  I  annul  the  service  of 
many  years.  The  legend  asserts  that  the  saint  was  never 
impatient,  and  that  made  his  colleagues  despair. 

413.  Carlsbad,  June  11. — Here  I  am  again  in  the 
Carlsbad  so  much  decried  by  the  Eadicals  of  Germany 
during  the  last  few  years.  The  night  before  last  I  slept 
at  Teplitz,  at  Prince  Clary's  ;  and  last  night  in  Schonhof, 
a  Schloss  belonging  to  Count  Czernin.  According  to 
all  accounts,  this  is  a  good  and  honourable  man,  but 
notoriously  very  ugly.  Prince  Louis  Kohan  called  him 
for  several  years  '  ambassador  from  the  dead,'  a  name 
which  has  clung  to  him  ever  since. 

414.  Konigswart. — I  came  here  two  years  ago  to 
visit  the  grave  of  my  father.  Who  could  then  have 
thought  that  I  should  so  soon  return  to  pray  by  the 
grave  of  a  child  then  overflowing  with  youth,  beauty,  and 
happiness  !     One  of  my  friends  has  sent  me  the  follow- 


CLEMENTINE   AND   LAWRENCE.  379 

ing  verse,  freely  translated  from  Ossian  : — '  Eest  softly, 
lovely  beam.  Early  didst  thou  sink  behind  the  moun- 
tain, and  dreadful  was  thy  departure.  Like  the  moon 
on  the  blue  trembling  waves.  In  darkness  hast  thou 
left  us,  0  first  of  maidens,  come  back  ! ' 

No  one  must  think  that  the  last  line  expresses  the 
feehng  of  the  poor  child  ;  she  was  simple,  hke  all  true 
beauty,  and  had  no  suspicion  that  she  was  more  notice- 
able than  any  of  her  friends.  How  often  has  she  said 
to  me,  when  the  passers-by  stopped  to  look  at  her,  '  The 
people  can  never  have  seen  a  hat  like  mine : '  or  she 
looked  herself  over  to  see  if  there  was  not  something 
wrong  with  her  toilet.  She  always  thought  others  more 
beautiful  than  herself;  and  I  saw  once  that  she  envied 
a  httle  ill-shaped  girl  her  head. 

I  am  certain  that  Lawrence  grieves  for  her,  not  on 
account  of  her  beauty,  for  he  has  painted  others  still 
more  beautiful,  but  because  he  likes  me,  and  knows 
what  I  feel.  Lawrence  is  a  very  good  man  ;  he  has 
plenty  of  sense,  Avhich  a  man  must  have  to  be  really 
good. 

It  rains  here  ajjain,  as  it  alwavs  does.  As  I  want  to 
build,  I  have  sent  for  my  architect,  Nobile. 

415.  June  14. — The  most  necessary  article  here  is 
an  umbrella.  Yesretation  thrives  witli  this  weather  :  the 
trees  and  meadows  are  wonderfully  green. 

I  had  hoped  to  have  eight  or  ten  days  here  without 
being  obliged  to  work,  but  I  found  to  my  horror  four 
couriers  assembled  here  from  all  corners  of  the  world. 
The  enjoyment  of  retirement  is  evidently  not  to  be  ex- 
pected by  me.  I  have  spent  the  whole  day  in  writing, 
and  it  is  now  striking  midnight.  Of  all  my  dependents, 
surely  no  one  is  awake  longer  than  I  am. 

416.  June  15. — Since  my  last  arrival  here  I  have 


380     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

established  two  manufactories  of  earthenware,  which 
look  very  modest,  but  are  all  the  more  useful.  In  one 
they  make  jngs  for  the  Marienbad  waters  ;  in  the  other, 
earthen  pots  for  the  Bohemian  cooks.  The  object  of 
both  is  to  burn  up  some  thousand  stacks  of  wood  which 
would  otherwise  rot  to  pieces  in  the  forests.  Nothing 
is  more  difficult  than  to  promote  the  interests  both  of 
the  wood  and  of  my  person,  and  if  the  former  is  trans- 
formed into  pots,  I  am  afraid  the  same  thing  may 
happen  to  me  also. 

I  do  not  wish,  moreover,  anyone  to  pay  me  the  same 
compliment  which  one  of  her  ladies  once  paid  to  our 
Emperor's  second  wife.  The  Empress  was  near  her 
seventh  or  eighth  confinement,  and  expressed  her  dread 
of  it ;  the  lady  wished  to  reassure  her.  '  But,'  said  the 
Empress,  '  the  pitcher  goes  to  the  well  till  it  breaks.' 
'  But  your  Majesty  forgets,'  returned  the  lady,  '  what  a 
very  superior  kind  of  pitcher  your  Majesty  is.'  There 
are  different  kinds  of  pitchers,  it  is  true,  but  I  know  of 
none  which  do  not  break  at  last ;  and  I  fear  that  the 
same  lot  which  I  prepare  for  them  will  happen  to 
myself. 

417.  June  16. — Queen  Caroline  has  arrived  in 
Dover,  and  was  drawn  by  the  hands  of  the  people  from 
Dover  to  Canterbury.  This  does  not  astonish  me  ;  a 
virtuous  Queen,  worthy  of  the  crown,  would  in  all  pro- 
bability be  bespattered  with  mud  by  the  people ;  she 
of  course  must  be  drawn  in  triumph. 

418.  I  am  making  a  thorough  course  of  mineral 
waters,  of  which  I  have  twenty-two  on  the  estate.  I 
have  had  pubhc  baths  built  at  one  place,  where  there 
are  three  excellent  but  different  springs  close  together. 

This  is  the  feast  of  St.  Antonius,  which  is  very  cere- 
moniously solemnised  in  my  private  chapel.     There  is 


MAUSOLEUM   AND   SCHLOSS.  381 

hardly  any  place  in  Bohemia  where  there  is  not  a  full 
orchestra  and  good  chorus  and  solo  singers.  At  the  mass 
to-day  my  orchestra  surprised  me  with  a  Gloria  which 
was  sung  to  the  air  '  Ombra  adorata,'  in  which  the  first 
singer  was  accompanied  with  trumpets  and  kettledrums. 
The  Latin  Paternoster  was  ornamented  with  roulades, 
whereby  the  words  became  most  absurd,  as,  for  instance, 
'  Da  nobis  pajmnem  papanem,  nem  pa  nem,  pa  pja! 
Certainly  there  could  not  be  a  child  in  the  church  who 
would  not  be  convinced  that  he  understood  Latin.  The 
melody  pleased  the  peasants  greatly. 

419.  June  21. — To-day  arrived  an  excellent  and 
pleasant  companion,  Prince  Schonburg,  an  enthusiastic 
sportsman  and  gay  young  fellow — a  very  agreeable 
guest  in  a  lonely  house. 

My  plans  for  rebuilding  the  house  are  ready.  My 
Schloss  consists  of  a  centre  and  two  wings,  of  which  one 
is  only  half-ready.  When  the  whole  is  finished  I  shall 
be  able  to  house  thirty  persons  comfortably. 

420.  June  29. — I  have  for  some  time  decided  to 
build  a  new  vault.  The  old  vault,  where  my  ancestors 
and  my  poor  daughter  are  buried,  is  badly  placed.  I 
have  found  a  suitable  spot  for  the  building  itself.  I 
wrote  to  you  some  months  ago  of  the  destruction  of  a 
Schloss  and  a  village  by  fire.  Now,  instead  of  rebuild- 
ing there  a  residence  for  the  hving,  I  will  make  a  resting- 
place  for  the  departed — for  me  and  mine.  A  mausoleum 
shall  be  erected  to  which  there  shallbe  no  second  in 
Bohemia,  and  perhaps  not  in  Europe.  I  like  everything 
which  defies  time.  I  will  therefore  make  an  Egyptian 
monument — not,  indeed,  a  pyramid,  but  a  chapel  with  a 
vault  in  the  Egyptian  style,  the  only  style  which  resists 
time  and  age.  There  is  plenty  of  material  lying  on  the 
spot  itself;  I  only  need  to  lay  one  stone  upon  another, 


382     EXTRACTS  FROM  METTERNICH'S  PRIVATE  LETTERS. 

There  shall  not  be  a  bit  of  wood  in  the  whole  monu- 
ment, which  shall  be  placed  in  a  garden  on  a  mound 
sixty  feet  high.* 

421.  liosenau,  July  2. — I  left  my  place  on  the  3rd, 
and  stayed  a  night  on  the  way,  so  as  not  to  reach 
Coburg  too  early.  The  lodging  was  very  bad,  which, 
however,  did  not  signify  to  me  much,  for  I  always  take 
with  me  my  bed  and  my  cook. 

Yesterday,  at  noon,  I  entered  Coburg,  and  was  sur- 
prised by  all  the  doubtful  pleasures  of  a  strict  etiquette. 
Marshals,  chamberlains,  pages,  &c.,  awaited  me  when 
I  alighted  from  the  carriage.  I  was  conducted  to  my 
abode  hke  the  Holy  Father  in  the  procession  of  Corpus 
Christi.  Visit  of  the  Duke,  return  visit,  visit  to  the 
Duchess,  to  the  Dowager  Duchess,  to  the  Duchess's  sister 
(Duchess  A.  von  Wurtemberg),  then  a  great  dinner, 
and  a  greater  Court,  a  great  concert  and  a  great  supper. 
My  sleeping  time  only  was  small  enough  to  enchant  me. 
To-day  we  shall  leave  the  caj^ital  and  establish  ourselves 
in  the  country  ;  etiquette,  happily,  will  remain  behind. 
Rosenheim  is  a  very  small  Schloss  ;  we  are  only  five 
here  :  the  Duke,  the  Duchess  and  a  cousin  of  hers,  one 
of  my  gentlemen  and  I.  The  neighbourhood  is  charm- 
ing, the  park  is  six  miles  round,  and  is  well  laid  out ;  I 
have  seldom  seen  anything  prettier  or  more  convenient. 
In  the  evening  the  people  had  a  festival,  at  which  all 
but  I  danced  with  the  peasants.  I  could  only  escape 
from  dancing  with  a  pretty  villager  by  the  story  that  I 
had  a  gun-shot  in  the  calf  of  my  left  leg. 

422.  July  4. — The  Duke  iiimself  shows  me  about 
his  territory.  I  find  it,  not  a  great,  but  a  very  beautiful 
country. 

*  Schloss  Miltigau,  Ijurnt  in  1820,  seems  to  be  alluded  to.    The  family 
vault  was  built  subsequently  (1828). — Ed, 


COBURG.  383 

The  Duke  is  having  his  Sclilos  at  Coburg  rebuilt  in 
the  Gothic  style.  It  will  be  very  fine,  but  very  costly, 
and  he  will  devote  to  it  the  third  part  of  his  income. 

As  etiquette  is  banished,  I  enjoy  my  present  life  very 
well.  Besides  I  have  not  touched  a  pen  for  three  days, 
which  makes  me  quite  happy. 

423.  July  5. — ^Yesterday  the  Duke's  architect 
showed  me  the  plans  for  the  new  Schloss.  The  man 
has  much  talent ;  his  plans  are  excellent.  If  the  Duke 
carries  them  out,  it  will  be  an  edifice  of  magnificent  di- 
mensions. 

The  London  news  makes  me  quite  unhappy.  This 
Queen  is  really  a  horrible  woman.  If  people  knew  what 
I  know  about  her,  they  would  be  surprised  at  her 
audacity  ;  and  yet  there  is  no  cause  for  surprise 
when  one  reflects  how  many  people  are  taken  in  by  it. 

424.  Franzeiwhad. — Yesterday,  after  breakfasting 
with  the  Dowager-Duchess,  Ileft  Coburg,  and  was  awaited 
here  impatiently  by  my  gentlemen  and  four  couriers. 
This  was  the  punishment  for  four  days'  freedom.  The 
courier  from  St.  Petersburg  brings  me  the  news  that  the 
Emperor  Alexander  is  somewhat  more  satisfied  with  me. 
I  am  always  j)leased  when  I  observe  that  with  time 
reason  ever  triumphs  over  unreason.  I  have  gained 
a  victory  over  Capo  d'Istria,  and  therefore  he  does  not 
talk  to  me  any  more.  The  book  of  the  Apocalypse  ap- 
pears for  the  moment  to  be  closed,  and  as  John 
preaches  no  more,  he  must  be  in  the  wilderness.  How 
easily  would  things  go  on  in  this  world  if  everyone 
would  but  move  in  the  direction  in  which  their  noses 
lead  them.  This  sometimes  apparently  useless  part  of 
the  body  seems  to  have  been  given  to  us  by  the  Creator 
only  for  the  purpose  of  showing  us  the  way  in  which 
we  ought  to  go,  as  you  see  sign-posts  set  up  to  point 


384     EXTHACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

out  tlie  right  road  to  travellers.  These  roads  are 
always  straight  unless  there  is  a  pit  or  a  swamp  to  be 
avoided. 

425.  Carlsbad,  July  9. — The  Queen's  trial  in  Lon- 
don a  heap  of  dirt  which  one  cannot  touch  without 
defihng  oneself.  Wellington  is  quite  right,  but  if  I  had 
seen  the  Prince  Eegent  a  year  ago,  everything  would 
have  been  prevented.  Castlereagh  and  Co.  have  not 
behaved  cleverly.  Two  years  ago  I  could  have  put 
them  in  a  position  to  manage  matters  differently. 
Alarm  and  want  of  quickness  have  brought  them  into  a 
position  from  which  they  will  not  easily  emerge. 

I  gather  that  tliis  shameful  trial  makes  a  shocking 
impression  in  England.  What  would  it  be  if  people 
knew  the  circumstances  more  exactly  ?  No  Enghsh 
mothers  can  allow  their  daughters  to  read  the  news- 
papers for  a  long  time  to  come. 


385 


OUTBREAK  OF  THE  NEAPOLITAN  REVOLUTION 
AND   OTHER  EVENTS  OF  THE  DAY, 

Extracts   from   Mettei-nich's   private   Letters  from.   July    17    to 
October  16,  1820. 

426  From  Weinzierl — news  of  the  catastrophe  at  Naples — grave  anxiety 
for  the  life  of  the  Princess  Marie  (Countess  Esterhazy) — the  Neapolitan 
event.  427.  Death  of  the  Princess  Marie.  428.  Emperor  Francis.  429. 
Metternich's  family  to  be  sent  to  Paris.  430.  Firm  attitude  of  the  Em- 
peror Francis  and  Metternich.  431.  Life  like  that  of  the  year  1815 — 
military  preparations.  432.  Much  work.  433.  "What  is  to  be  done?' 
434.  Napoleon's  day.  435.  Universal  echo  in  Europe.  43G.  Tedium. 
437.  Clementine's  birthday.  438.  Meeting  of  three  monarchs  in  Troppau. 
439.  Day  of  the  beginning  of  the  Conferences.  440.  Departure  of  the 
family  to  Paris.  441.  Practical  or  obstinate  ?  442.  Too  early  or  toe 
late?— the  '  Journal  des  Debats.'  443.  Metternich's  wife  in  Paris.  444. 
From  IloUitch— good  news  from  St.  Petersburg.  445.  From  Schlosd- 
Wiczomirciz. 

426.  Weinzierl,  July  19,  1820. — Since  yesterday  I 
have  been  at  the  Imperial  Scliloss.  At  eleven  I  left 
Carlsbad,  arrived  at  Vienna  on  the  lotli,  and  on  the- 
14th  went  to  my  people  at  Baden,  where,  however,  I 
could  only  stay  one  night.  On  the  15th,  I  was  sum- 
moned back  to  Vienna  by  the  news  of  the  Neapolitan 
catastrophe.     On  the  16th  I  came  here  to  the  Emperor. 

In  Baden  I  have  much  to  go  through.  For  three- 
or  four  months  Marie  has  been  unwell :  all  the  symptoms 
of  pregnancy  were  present.  These  symptoms  disap- 
peared and  were  replaced  by  tlie  dreadful  certainty  of  a 
serious  malady.  I  think  her  fearfully  altered,  so  worn 
so  weak,  tliat  I  have  no  hope  for  her.  In  7css  than 
two  montlis  I  shall  have  lo^t  two  daur^hters      Heaven; 

VOL.  IIL  C  C 


y 


386     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERXICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

sends  me  hard  trials  ;  I  submit  to  its  decrees,  and  I  hope 
they  will  be  imputed  to  me  in  a  better  world. 

The  Neapolitan  event  is  beyond  all  calculation  ;  the 
consequences  will  be  quickly  seen,  the  remedies  must 
not  be  long  waited  for.  Are  any  of  tliese  to  be  de- 
pended upon  ?  I  do  not  yet  know,  but  I  shall  not  be 
the  last  to  put  myself  in  the  breach.  Fate  has  made 
it  easy  for  me — that  is,  fate  will  soon  have  left  me  so 
few  ties  to  bind  me  to  earth  that  it  will  be  but  a  small 
service  to  put  forth  all  my  strength  of  mind  and  heart. 

This  event  must  make  a  deep  impression  on  the 
Emperor  Alexander,  all  the  more  as  the  rebels  boast  of 
his  countenance.  Since  1815,  Italy  has  been  flooded 
with  Eussians,  who  always  were  thought  to  spread  the 
false  idea  that  every  so  called  liberal  movement  would 
find  a  protector  in  their  Emperor.  Here  is  the  first 
movement :  two  squadrons  of  cavalry  overturn  a  throne, 
and  throw  all  the  w^orld  into  inexpressible  troubles.  It 
will  not  go  in  Naples  as  it  did  at  Madrid.  Blood  will 
How  in  streams.  A  semi-barbarous  people,  of  absolute 
ignorance  and  boundless  credulity,  hot-blooded  as  the 
Africans,  a  people  who  can  neither  read  nor  write, 
whose  last  word  is  the  dagger — such  a  people  offers  fine 
material  for  constitutional  principles  ! 

To-morrow  I  shall  remain  here,  and  on  the  19th 
go  back  to  Vienna,  where  I  shall  divide  my  time  be- 
tween the  capital  and  Baden.  In  Vienna  I  exjDect  hard 
work,  in  Baden  severe  sorrow. 

427.  Vienna,  July  25.— On  the  16th  I  left  my 
daughter  :  on  the  20th  she  was  no  more  !  I  received 
this  dreadful  news  at  the  last  post  before  Vienna.  I 
found  my  wife  and  children  at  home,  having  just  re- 
turned from  Baden.  My  daughter  departed  this  fife  at 
eight  in  the   morning  ;    her   death  was  like  her  life, 


MARIE.  387 

gentle  and  calm,  as  the  entrance  of  a  spirit  into  its  true 
home  should  be. 

My  son-in-law  remains  behind  by  the  body  of  his 
wife  ;  so  great  was  his  despair  that  he  was  obliged  to  be 
watched.  In  the  afternoon  he  came  here  and  watered 
my  knees  with  his  tears.  He  was  harassed  with  the 
thousrht  that  I  should  not  foro;ive  him  for  this  misfor- 
tune — he  who  had  given  up  everything  to  make  happy 
the  being  whom  he  loved  so  supremely.  My  grief  is 
that  of  a  man  on  whom  great  duties  are  still  imposed. 
I  must  forget  that  I  am  a  father — must  silence  all  that 
nature  itself  finds  it  so  difficult  to  overcome.  I  throw 
myself  into  my  task  like  a  desperate  man  on  the  enemies' 
batteries.  I  no  longer  live  to  feel,  but  to  act.  The 
burden  which  Providence  lays  upon  me  is  very  heavy, 
and  would  crush  many  men.  As  I  loved  this  daugh- 
ter, she  on  her  side  loved  me  more  than  as  a  father. 
For  many  years  she  has  been  my  best  friend.  I  had  no 
need  to  confide  my  thoughts  to  her  :  she  divined  them. 
She  knew  me  better  than  I  knew  myself.  She  had  never  a 
thought  which  did  not  become  mine,  never  spoke  a  word 
which  in  her  place  I  would  no>,  have  said.  I  was  con- 
stantly impelled  to  thank  her,  that  she  was  what  she  was. 
I  have  sustained  an  irreparable  loss.  The  only  blessing 
is  tliat  I  feel  myself  but  lightly  bound  to  earth. 
My  daughter  would  have  died  at  my  death  ;  I  do  not 
die  at  hers.     She  was  therefore  better  than  I  am. 

In  such  a  mood  of  mind  the  world  weighs  upon  my 
shoulders  with  all  the  important  matters  it  has  of  late 
heaped  up.  Even  on  the  day  of  my  daughter's  death,  I 
had  to  sit  six  hours  in  a  ministerial  council  and  eight  at 
mj"  writing  table. 

I  will  do  my  duty,  and  from  this  time  forward  duty 
will  take  the  place  of  life. 

C  C  2 


388     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

428.  July  26. — Heaven  has  placed  me  near  a  man 
who  seems  as  if  he  had  been  made  for  me.  The  Emperor 
Francis  does  not  lose  a  word.  He  knows  what  he  wishes, 
and  his  wish  is  always  good.  Putting  aside  secondary 
considerations,  he  always  goes  straight  to  his  object. 
He  never  throws  down  the  ganntlet,  but  is  ever  ready 
to  pick  it  up  if  it  is  thrown  to  liim.  The  difficulties  are 
great ;  destiny  will  decide  whether  we  shall  conquer. 
But  what  strength  of  mind,  what  purity  of  conscience, 
and  calmness  of  judgment  can  accomplish,  will  be  accom- 
plished. I  also  am  as  if  made  to  continue  the  fellow- 
worker  of  the  Emperor  on  his  thorny  path. 

In  this  I  seek  my  refuge.  The  load  at  my  heart 
oppresses  me  less  ;  work  rather  does  me  good.  Whether 
I  live  I  know  not,  and  neither  do  I  inquire.  I  treat  my- 
self like  a  sick  man. 

429.  July  28. — ^It  is  just  eight  days  to-day  since  my 
better  half  was  placed  in  the  grave.  Why  was  it  not 
myself?  How  much  trouble  should  I  have  been  spared. 
My  poor  child  rests  to-day  in  foreign  soil.  Her  hus- 
band would  have  her  laid  in  his  vault  ;  my  ashes  will, 
therefore,  never  lie  by  hers.  I  comfort  myself  with  the 
thouMit  that  I  shall  be  united  with  her,  and  that  for  ever  ! 

I  and  my  wife,  the  poor  mother,  have  arrived  at  a 
determination  which  lies  very  near  to  her  heart  as  well  as 
to  mine.  We  will  make  a  new  sacrifice  to  duty  and  reason. 
Since  the  three  other  clnldren  have  all  delicate  chests, 
a  continued  residence  in  Vienna  would  be  too  dancrerous 
for  them.  My  wife  would  like  to  take  them  for  some 
years  to  Italy.  My  son,  who  must  continue  his  studies, 
I  should  gladly  send  to  the  University  of  Padua  or 
Sienna.  In  my  present  position  and  under  present  cir- 
cumstances Italy  would  be  impossible  for  them.  Neither 
could  I  send  my  son  to  Germany  ;  he  might  be  mur- 


VIENNA   UNHEALTHY.  389 

dered.  For  such  plans  I  am  too  much  exposed  to  the 
attacks  of  Eadicals  of  every  country.  Therefore  I  will, 
next  September,  send  the  whole  family  to  Paris,  where 
they  can  remain  as  long  as  it  is  necessary.  I  shall  re- 
main alone  in  the  world,  but  I  shall  lind  comfort  in 
thinking  that  my  family  are  together,  and  are  removed 
from  the  effect  of  the  Vienna  chmate.  During  the  last 
twenty  years  eight  persons  have  died  in  my  house,  seven 
of  them  from  lung  disease.  Experiences  like  this  can- 
not be  withstood ;  one  must  bend  before  them. 

430.  Jidy  29. — I  luive  no  longer  any  domestic  hfe. 
Everything  is  being  prepared  for  the  journey.  My  son- 
in-law  goes  with  them  to  Paris,  and  will  remain  there, 
which  is  a  great  advantage  for  my  son,  as  he  will  serve 
as  father  and  tutor  to  him. 

The  Emperor  and  I  will  give  the  world  a  great 
example  ;  we  will  not  leave  our  posts.  If  we  are  de- 
stroyed, many  will  have  to  smart  for  their  crimes  and 
theii-  folly  first.  The  high  character  of  the  Carbonari, 
the  party  which  has  led  all  the  others,  is  the  anxiety. 

I  have  good  news  from  St.  Petersburg.  Capo  d'lstria 
feels  himself  thoroughly  beaten.  Much  has  to  be  settled 
between  the  Emperor  Alexander  and  me.  It  is  not  pos- 
sible to  form  an  idea  of  Golowkin's  simphcity ;  it  can 
only  be  tolerated  on  account  of  his  good  intentions, 
wliich  are  decidedly  good.  He  is  one  of  those  men 
who  have  no  leading  thouglit.  Correct  and  incorrect, 
ultramontane  and  liberal,  Christian  and  heathen — such 
are  his  changes  in  one  quarter  of  an  hour. 

431.  Au(jU8t  1. — The  whole  day  yesterday  I  was 
with  the  Emperor  at  Schonbrunn.  My  hfe  is  now  like 
tliat  which  I  led  in  the  year  1815.  I  am  busy  witli 
generals  and  military  affairs  of  every  kind  ;  at  first  it 
was  only  a  question  of  50,000  men,  but  witli  the  38,000 


390     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

who  are  already  in  Italy  it  will  increase  to  quite  a  large 
army.  Many  people  are  astonished  that  we  can  so 
quickly  set  it  in  motion.  No  country  is  so  quiet  as 
Austria  in  time  of  peace  ;  none  so  active  as  Austria  when 
it  is  necessary.  No  great  movement  is  visible,  but  every- 
thing goes  forward  quickly.  At  the  battle  of  Leipsic 
our  allies  had  only  one-third,  but  Austria  brought  to  the 
battle-field  the  other  two-thirds  of  the  main  force.  We 
are  very  bad  proclaimers  of  our  wares.  What  will  come 
of  it  ?  God  knows.  But  I  know  what  has  to  be  done 
to-day,  and  I  shall  know  what  to  do  to  morrow. 

432.  August  6. — I  sit  at  my  writing-table  like  a 
bankrupt  in  a  tavern.  He  drinks  to  forget  the  loss  of 
his  goods :  I  work  to  drown  the  distress  of  my  mind. 
My  head  remains  clear  ;  it  is  with  me  as  if  I  had  two 
minds,  which  are  like  the  double  l^ellows  that  maintain 
the  fire  in  the  great  furnaces,  making  me  always  blaze 
up  :  if  one  fails,  the  other  increases,  which  has  this 
result — that  I  always  go  forward. 

My  position  has  this  peculiarity  that  all  eyes,  all  ex- 
pectations are  directed  to  the  point  on  which  I  find  myself. 

My  days  and  part  of  my  nights  are  dedicated  to  my 
work.  I  am  more  strange  to  myself  than  all  the  people 
who  pass  by  my  window.  In  the  evening,  at  the  sight 
of  all  I  have  accomplished,  I  perceive  that  life  still  re- 
mains in  me,  but  of  the  feeling  of  life  I  have  none. 

433.  August  8. — My  head  is  tired  and  my  heart 
dried  up,  and  in  this  state  I  feel  the  world  resting  on  my 
shoulders.  If  I  should  deceive  myself  for  a  moment  I 
am  brought  to  recollection  by  the  arrival  of  some  courier 
with  the  declaration,  '  What  will  you  do  ?  '  They  say, 
'  We  have  confidence  only  in  you.  Our  fate,  is  in  your 
hands  ;  what  shall  we  do  ?  '  That  is  the  substance  of  all 
the  despatches  which  arrive,  and  two-thirds  of  the  ques- 


NAPOLEON.  391 

tioners  are  always  ready  to  perpetrate  some  folly,  be- 
cause they  have  neither  spirit  nor  courage. 

A  Httle  while  ago  the  Emperor  Alexander  made  the 
following  declaration  : — '  Since  the  year  1814  I  have 
often  been  mistaken  as  to  the  mind  of  the  public  :  what 
I  thought  true  I  find  now  to  be  false.  I  have  done 
much  evil  ;  I  will  make  every  effort  to  make  it  good 
again.'  Indeed,  there  are  many  errors  which  are  not 
known  till  the  evil  is  to  be  seen.  The  man  who  allows 
errors  to  be  seen  is  no  statesman ;  but  if  he  admits  that 
he  has  made  a  mistake,  he  is  at  least  an  honourable 
man,  and  that  the  Emperor  Alexander  is. 

Capo  d'lstria  appears  to  have  retired  to  the  second 
rank,  out  of  which  he  ought  never  to  have  advanced. 

One  of  my  plagues  is  the  residence  of  the  Emperor 
at  Schonbrunn.  True,  it  is  not  far  off,  but  the  back- 
wards and  forwards  takes  me  an  hour,  and  I  often  have 
to  go  twice  in  the  day. 

434.  August  It)  (Napoleonstag). —  This  is  the  day  of 
the  great  accursed  !  if  he  were  still  on  the  throne,  and 
he  were  alone  in  the  world,  I  should  be  happy. 

This  day  twelve  years  ago,  I  was  at  one  of  Napoleon's 
cercles  ;  he  had  the  notion  of  placing  himself  at  the  head 
of  the  army  in  Spain,  we  on  our  side  were  making 
preparations  for  the  war  of  the  year  1809.  I  was 
openly  and  shar])ly  questioned  by  him  with  regard 
to  these  preparations,*  and  I  had  the  satisfaction  of 
telling  him  several  trutlis  in  the  presence  of  the 
assembled  plenipotentiaries  of  Europe.  He  expected  to 
do  a  good  stroke  of  business,  and  it  turned  out  that  it 
was  done  by  me.  In  the  evening  he  sent  the  Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs  to  me,  to  assure  me  of  liis  friendsliip 
and  perfect  satisfaction.  Nothing  spoils  a  trick  so 
much  as  the  bold  utterance  of  truth.     I  would  cer- 


o 


92     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE    LETTERS. 


tainly  as  soon  be  cunning  as  stupid,  but  I  should  prefer 
to  be  neither  of  the  two,  and  if  God  does  not  forsake 
me,  the  world  will  not  have  to  reproach  me  with  either 
one  or  the  other. 

435.  August  17. — I  am  w^ell  pleased  with  all  that 
I  hear  from  every  side.  I  hear  an  echo  everywhere  in 
Europe.  There  is  as  yet  no  breath  of  air  from  the 
North,  but  it  too  will  soon  reach  us.  If  it  blows  from 
the  hisjhest  summits  it  will  not  be  warm :  if  it  comes 
from  the  low  ground  it  will  smell  of  mud  ! 

436.  August  20. — It  is  said  that  from  uniformity 
comes  tedium  ;  the  uniformity  in  which  I  live  is  not 
without  change,  and  the  result  is  that  I  feel  no  tedium, 
without  being  any  the  happier. 

I  do  not  always  sleep  well.  If  my  thoughts  get  the 
mastery  over  me,  I  often  lie  awake  ;  I  often  remain 
lying  for  an  hour  without  altering  my  position,  and 
ruminate  ;  then  I  feel  what  is  laid  upon  me,  and  the 
burden  seems  to  me  out  of  proportion  to  my  strength. 
Difficulties  and  dilemmas  crowd  upon  me,  till  at  last  I 
hear  a  voice  which  rises  in  me  notwithstanding  every 
obstruction.  Then  I  feel  myself  grow  continually 
larger,  and  I  endptxr  me  croire  immense.  Everything  is 
in  extremes  at  such  a  moment  when  the  mind  is  dis- 
turbed by  no  outward  object.  Tired  out  I  ftdl  asleep, 
and  Avlien  I  wake  in  the  morning  I  find  a  plan  in  my 
head  quite  ready  ;  this  plan  I  have  not  thought  out :  it 
seems  to  arise  of  itself. 

Not  to  misunderstand  wliat  is  here  said,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  be  placed  exactly  in  my  position. 

437.  September  1. — My  poor  Clementine  would 
have  been  sixteen  to-day.  She  keeps  her  birthday  in 
that  place  where  there  is  neither  sorrow  nor  pain. 
Full  of  pity,  she  looks  down  upon  her  earthly  remains, 


PLANS  FOR  NEW  CONFERENCE.        393 

which  so  short  a  thue  ago  were  so  full  of  charm.  She 
pities  her  father  and  mother,  and  prepares  for  them  a 
sweet  and  eternal  union.  Time  is  nothing  to  those  who 
stand  beyond  it ;  she  must  feel  one  with  us,  but  it  is 
more  sad  for  me  because  I  am  so  far  away  from  her. 

The  day  before  her  death  Clementine  said  to  her 
mother,  as  I  went  out  of  the  room  :  '  Don't  you  think 
it  must  do  anyone  good  to  see  Papa  ?  He  looks  so  gentle 
and  calm,  that  I  cannot  understand  how  it  is  that  some 
people  are  afraid  of  him :  as  for  me,  I  always  think  he 
makes  me  well  and  happy.'  The  poor  httle  thing  did 
not  guess  that  what  she  thought  was  calm,  was  death  at 
my  heart ! 

438.  September  3. — It  is  proposed  that  the  three 
monarchs  shall  meet  at  Troppau  in  the  latter  part  of 
September.  Lebzeltern  has  just  come.  To-morrow  I 
shall  examine  him. 

439.  Sej^tember  17 . — The  new  Conference  will  be- 
cfin  on  October  20.  I  am  so  accustomed  to  conferences 
that  it  does  not  alarm  me.  This  will  be  the  third  con- 
ference in  less  than  a  year.  If  I  do  not  learn  the 
business  it  is  my  own  fault.  Nesselrode  is  coming : 
the  Emperor  Alexander  will  not  meet  me  alone. 

Will  anyone  come  from  London  ?  and  who  ?  Castle- 
reagh  is  desired  by  many,  but  he  will  not  be  able  to 
come  ;  for  this  matter  Welhngton  would  be  nominated. 
Will  he  come  or  will  they  choose  to  send  him  ? 

After  the  Troppau  Conference  is  over,  a  permanent 
Conference  shall  be  estabhshed  in  Vienna.  This  I  had 
proposed  more  than  a  year  ago.  Mean  passions  have 
prevented  it,  and  urgent  necessity  now  brings  it  forward. 

440.  Sejytember  2b. — My  family  has  started;  lam 
now  alone  here  in  my  great  abode.  As  for  me,  I  have 
lost  one  hour  in  my  day,  the   only  one  in  which  I  was 


394     EXTRACTS   FROM  METTERNICH'S  PRIVATE  LETTERS. 

quite  sure  to  belong  to  myself.  I  always  spent  the  time 
from  9  to  10  o'clock  with  my  wife  and  my  children. 
This  hour  was  happiness  to  them,  to  me  it  was  a  con- 
solation. I  have  made  this  sacrifice  also.  My  life  con- 
sists of  sacrifices,  and  one  more  privation  counts  for 
nothing  to  one  whose  life  is  all  privation  ;  my  existence 
is  too  much  like  that  of  a  clock,  Je  marche  toujours 
pour  marquer  les  heures.  I  serve  others  while  1  wear 
myself  out. 

441.  October  1. — The  society  of  the  present  day  has 
come  to  its  latter  end.  Nothing  remains  quiet,  eithei 
in  the  moral  or  physical  world,  and  society  has  reached 
iio  zenith.  Under  these  circumstances  so-called  moving 
forwards  is  moving  downwards.  The  evil,  too,  attains 
its  highest  point,  and  then  falls.  Such  times  appear  to 
contemporaries  very  long,  but  wliat  are  two  or  three 
centuries  in  the  journal  of  history  ? 

I  have  not  been  able  to  reconcile  either  my  under- 
standing or  my  judgment  to  what  lias  happened  since 
the  year  1814.  That  was  the  possible  moment  for 
salvation.  I  consider  myself  practical ;  that  I  was  so 
then  has  been  made  evident. 

The  world  has  judged  me  as  it  is  accustomed  to 
judge  itself,  and  has  deceived  itself  about  me  as  well  as 
about  itself.  I  believe  I  was  not  deceived  ;  I  cherish  but 
one  passion,  that  for  justice  and  moderation.  They  bring 
me,  however,  daily  perplexities.  They  urge  me  to  the 
greatest  of  all  sacrifices — the  sacrifice  of  my  private  life, 
and  all  the  enjoyments,  great  and  small,  which  contri- 
bute to  make  up  tlie  life  of  a  man.  But  if  I  had  to  begin 
over  again,  I  would  place  myself  upon  the  same  ground, 
because  it  is  the  only  ground  approved  by  my  reason 
and  my  conscience. 

442.  October  6. — My  life  has  fallen  at   a   hateful 


JOURNAL  DES  DEBATS.  395 

time.  I  have  come  into  the  world  either  too  early  or 
too  late.  Now,  I  do  not  feel  comfortable ;  earlier,  I 
should  have  enjoyed  the  time  ;  later,  I  should  have 
helped  to  build  it  up  again  ;  to-day  I  have  to  give  my 
Hfe  to  prop  up  the  mouldering  edifice.  I  should  have 
been  born  in  1900,  and  I  should  have  had  the  twentieth 
century  before  me. 

The  journal  'La  Gazette  de  France  '  contains  some 
articles  signed  by  a  certain  Colnet,  which  are  malicious, 
but  well  written.  The  articles  always  hit  hard  ;  they 
are  indeed  ultra,  which  I  am  not  ;  but  as  I  cannot 
bear  the  Eadicals,  I  always  rejoice  over  every  well-dealt 
blow  that  tliey  receive. 

Whoever  takes  up  the  '  Journal  des  Debats  '  will, 
without  knomng  it,  read  me  ;  there  is  hardly  a  week  in 
which  I  do  not  send  it  some  papers.  But  still  no  one 
must  suppose  that  all  the  articles  from  Vienna  in  the 
Paris  newspapers  are  from  my  pen.  The  chief  corre- 
spondent is  a  ladies'  hairdresser  ;  often  pieces  of  infor- 
mation which  he  gives,  not  one  is  true.  Besides  which, 
he  offers  his  al^surdities  in  a  style  which  could  not  be 
more  shallow  or  more  stupid. 

443.  October  9. — I  have  news  of  my  wife.  She 
will  be  in  Paris  in  two  or  three  days.  Her  letters 
breathe  of  health.  She  is  safely  out  of  the  town,  and 
that  Avas  the  necessity  ;  had  she  remained  in  Vienna  she 
would  liave  fallen  into  marasmus.  From  great  misfor- 
tunes comes  a  peculiar  reversed  sort  of  home-sickness 
directed  to  foreign  countries,  and  that  was  the  case  with 
her.  A  place  in  which  one  has  been  happy  may,  by  the 
loss  of  that  happiness,  become  unbearable.  Every  corner, 
every  face,  indeed  every  shadow,  recals  our  pain.  Tlie 
house  in  which  I  live  is  certainly  too  large  :  the  part 
which  I  use  is  quite  separate  from  that  of  my  wife  and 


39 G     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

cliiklren.  What  in  ordinary  times  is  an  evil  will  now 
be  a  real  benefit  to  me.  The  whole  of  that  part  is  cut 
off.  I  cannot  without  horror  go  into  the  room  where 
my  poor  Clementine  died,  and  I  have  not  been  able  to 
prevail  on  myself  to  revisit  my  Marie's  house. 

444.  BoUitsch,  October  14. — I  have  instinctively 
made  a  circuit  to  come  here.  My  instinct  has  often 
before  had  to  replace  the  talent  Heaven  has  denied  me. 
Yesterday  evening,  as  I  entered  Brunn  on  one  side,  Leb- 
zeltern  came  in  on  the  other.  I  have  thus  gained  an 
evening  and  a  forenoon,  and  a  few  hours  in  my  hfe  are 
as  much  as  months  with  other  people.  What  Lebzel- 
tern  brings  me  from  Petersburg  is  both  excellent  and 
important — excellent  as  to  the  moral  feeling  of  the 
Emperor  ;  important  as  to  the  confusion  of  Capo  d'Istria's 
thoughts,  as  he  takes  in  all  my  plans.  An  experienced 
commander  does  not  allow  himself  to  give  way  to  a 
feeling  of  anxiety  the  evening  before  the  battle  ;  and  I 
must,  under  present  circumstances,  fearlessly  bear  the 
thought  of  joining  in  the  great  debates. 

445.  Wiczomirciz,  October'  16. — I  w^rite  to-day 
from  one  of  my  estates,  the  name  of  which  I  spare  you. 
It  is  Ultra-Sclavonian,  and,  therefore,  difficult  to  pro- 
nounce. Since  this  property  hes  between  Holhtsch  and 
Troppau,  I  liave  so  arranged  that  I  can  remain  here  two 
days.  In  1817  I  came  here  with  Marie,  and  have  not 
been  here  since. 

Wiczomirciz  and  Kojetain  make  a  fine  estate.  The 
latter,  an  insignificant  market-town,  lies  in  an  extremely 
fruitful  pleasant  country.  Everything  here  looks 
pleasant  and  well-to-do.  The  meadows  in  the  fore- 
ground, the  Car|)athian  mountains  in  the  distance,  the 
beautiful  plains,  with  their  fertile  fields  and  well-to-do 
people,  all  form  the  picture  of  a  cheerful  rich  countr3^ 


89T 


FROM   TROPPAU. 

Extracts  from  Metternich's  private  Letters  from  October  19  to 
December  24,  1820. 

44fi.  Arrival  .at  Troppau.  447.  Arrival  of  the  Emperor  Alexander.  448. 
Capo  d'Istria.  449.  Conversation  with  Capo  d'Istria.  450.  Conversation 
with  Nesselrode.  451.  The  Puchess  of  "Wurtemherg,  Metternich's 
sister — a  cuiious  incident.  452.  Utopia.  453.  Good  results.  454.  Con- 
staat  kindness  of  the  Emperor  Alexander  to  Metternich.  455.  The  freak 
of  the  Semanoffsky  regiment.  456.  Capo  d'Istria  at  the  Conference.  457. 
Scandal  of  Queen  Caroline's  trial.  458.  Deration  to  await  the  answer  of 
Naples — conference  with  the  Emperor  Alexander.  459.  Mud  in  Troppau. 
460.  Nesselrode.  401.  End  of  the  first  act.  462.  Love  of  tea.  46-3. 
Everything  frozen.  464.  Golowkin  a  Tea-anthrope.  465.  No  news  from 
Naples.  406.  Search  for  news  467.  The  King  of  Naples  arrives  and 
we  go  to  Lavbach. 


o^ 


446.  Troppau^  October  19,  1820. — Here  I  am. 
What  I  shall  accomplish  I  know  not.  Wliat  I  shall  do 
I  know.  Will  anything  happen  ?  Yes  I  Will  anything 
good  happen  ?  Yes  !  Will  the  general-  result  corre- 
spond with  the  great  sensation  ?  1  fear  not !  This  is  my 
catechism  till  the  moment  when  deeds  can  take  the 
place  of  words.     The  first  I  love,  the  latter  I  hate. 

My  Emperor  is  already  here  ;  the  Eussian  monarch 
comes  to-morrow. 

I  am  well  Iodized,  and  that  is  somethincf.  I  shall 
have  no  time  to  be  weary,  and  I  hope  even  that  I  shall 
have  the  opportunity  of  making  my  stay  here  com- 
paratively pleasant. 

447.  October  20. — The  Emperor  Alexander  has 
ai  rived.    The  Emperor  Francis  was  confined  to  his  bed, 


398     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

and  therefore  could  not  go  to  meet  him.  I  awaited 
him  on  his  arrivaL  He  received  me  hke  an  old  comrade 
in  arms :    there  are,  it  is  true,  arms  of  various  kinds. 

I  find  him  grown  stronger,  but  not  aged.  The 
little  town  contains  an  extraordinary  number  of  pretty 
and  convenient  houses,  and  the  Conference  is  very  well 
accommodated.  The  Troppau  people  are  quite  proud 
of  the  noise  they  are  making  in  the  world  ;  they  are 
more  astonished  than  I  am,  and  I  am  not  a  httle  aston- 
ished to  find  myself  here. 

448.  October  21. — I  have  made  use  of  my  morn- 
ing in  reading  and  understanding  the  Eussian  Premier. 
Judge  of  my  amazement ;  he  did  not  make  one  apoca- 
lyptic utterance.  This  is  unnatural,  but  it  is  never- 
theless true.  However,  the  true  is  often  not  probable. 
What  has  happened  in  Capo  d'lstria's  seventh  heaven  ? 
He  has  simply  fallen  to  earth — like  truth,  but  not  with 
his  eyes  blinded,  like  hers. 

Our  conversation  began  in  this  way :  with  both  my 
feet  on  the  ground  I  had  chosen — the  ground  of  simple 
reason — I  broke  in  at  once.  He  stood  quite  firm.  By 
way  of  experiment  I  left  him  there.  He  did  not  follow 
me.  I  again  sprang  upon  him,  and  found  him  taking 
even  a  firmer  position ;  in  fact,  a  mountain  is  not  firmer. 
'  Pour  le  coup,'  I  said  to  myself,  '  this  is  too  strong. 
I  will  put  him  to  the  proof.  Now  I  will  make  an  attack 
on  the  apocalypse.'  He  went  ^vith  me,  even  bearing 
the  torches  to  light  the  auto-da-fe  for  the  book  of  the 
unreal  John.  I  attacked  his  past ;  he  cursed  it.  I  placed 
the  future  firmly  before  him  ;  he  seemed  quite  agreeable. 
At  last  I  lauo;hed — and  he  lauo;hed.  I  believe  if  I  had 
wept  he  would  have  dissolved  in  tears.  From  that 
moment  I  tliought  to  myself,  '  Now  we  can  go  for- 
ward ;  and  oh,  the  mii-acle  !  he  goes  too  ! ' 


CAPO   D'lSTPJA.  399 

So  is  also  the  Emperor  of  Paissia.  He  blames  him- 
self— nay,  condemns  himself.  This  is  too  beautiful, 
and  if  I  did  not  touch  myself,  I  should  think  I  was 
dreaming.  During  my  three  hours'  conversation  with 
the  Emperor  Alexander  yesterday,  I  found  in  him  the 
same  pleasant  manners  which  surprised  me  in  1813  : 
but  he  has  become  much  wiser  than  he  was  in  1813. 
I  begged  him  to  explain  this  change  to  me.  He 
answered  quite  openly  :  •  You  do  not  understand  me  :  I 
will  tell  you.  From  the  year  1813  to  1820  is  seven 
years,  and  tliese  seven  years  are  hke  a  century  to  me. 
In  the  year  1820  I  will  at  no  price  do  what  I  did  in  the 
year  1813.  You  are  not  altered,  but  I  am.  You  have 
nothing  to  regret,  but  I  have.'  '  As  is  the  master,  so  is 
the  servant,'  I  said  to  myself.  Now  we  will  wait  ; 
Nesselrode  is  to  come. 

449.  October  29. — To  prepare  myself  for  my 
conference  to-day  I  had  an  hour's  conversation  with 
Capo  dlstria.  I  was  cpiite  well  disposed  to  hear  him. 
This  encouraged  him.  He  went  ofl'  and  lost  himself  in 
a  long  investigation  of  middle-class  society  ;  its  strength, 
its  weakness,  its  nerves,  its  sensitiveness,  its  component 
parts,  its  health  or  sickness,  and  its  disintegration  or 
death.  The  deuce  take  me  if  I  did  not  know  all  this  at 
twelve  years  old !  As  my  attention  was  directed  only 
to  the  outcome  of  his  long  discourse,  I  was  at  last 
thoroughly  disappointed.  The  endless  tirade  concluded 
with  the  declaration  :  'This  is  the  position  of  the  affair  ! ' 
This  I  call  political  pathology,  and  nothing  strengthens 
me  more  in  the  supposition  that  I  have  some  sense  than 
those  occasions  when  anyone,  hke  him,  wishes  to  be 
very  clever  in  order  to  show  off  his  intellect.  In  my 
opinion,  he  only  really  has  mind  who  speaks  clearly. 
The  mind  must  be  a  \\<i\\i  without  smoke.     It  warms 


400     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICII'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

and  vivifies  everything  that  it  touches.  If  it  does 
neitlier  the  one  nor  the  other  it  is  of  bad  qnahty.  A 
small,  mean  intellect  is  nothing  but  small,  mean  stupidity. 
My  intellect  says  to  me,  '  Capo  d'Istria  has  none.'  I 
wager  that  he  will  say  the  same  of  me  ;  and  this  only  a 
jury  can  decide. 

450.  November  1. — Evenings  on  which  the  storm 
rages  and  beats  with  heavy  raindrops  on  the  windows 
seem  to  be  made  for  confidential  communications.  This 
often  repeated  experience  is  newly  confirmed  by  the 
long  conversation  I  have  just  had  with  ISTesselrode.  He 
sat  just  in  front  of  me  at  the  same  table  at  which 
I  write,  and  left  me  ten  minutes  ago.  Nesselrode 
began  himself  to  speak  of  the  impossibility  of  leaving 
Golowkin  in  Vienna  ;  the  Emperor  will  no  longer  read 
his  Eeports,  and  Capo  d'lstria  wall  not  hsten  to  him.  This 
is  certainly  a  very  useful  man  at  all  times,  but  especially 
in  the  present. 

451.  Novemher  3. — My  sister  (Duchess  of  Wurtem- 
berg)  came  here  two  days  ago.  She  came  to  give  the 
Duke  a  good  opportunity  to  speak  to  the  Emperor 
Alexander.  The  latter,  who  is  always  glad  to  find  any- 
one to  talk  to,  lias  for  two  days  hardly  left  his  aunt. 
People  like  much  lioth  to  see  and  listen  to  her,  for  she 
has  plenty  of  sense  and  is  also  very  pleasing. 

A  comical  incident  took  place  between  aunt  and 
nephew.  He  was  quartered  in  a  small  and  bad  house. 
Towards  the  end  of  the  second  evening  after  she  arrived 
she  remarked  something;  move  in  one  corner  of  the  ceil- 
ing.  On  looking  closer,  she  discovered  a  very  small 
window,  which  the  house-steward  during  tliese  two 
evenings  had  let  for  so  much  a  head  to  anyone  who 
was  curious  to  see  the  Emperor  of  Russia  in  friendly 
society  without  being  remarked.    Happily  the  interview 


RUSSIAN  POLICY.  40X 

was  quite  harmless,  or  we  should  have  had  seemingly  a 
new  edition  of  the  English  trial.  If  ever  Queen  Caroline 
travels  through  Troppau,  care  must  be  taken  that  she 
is  lodged  in  this  apartment. 

452.  November  4. — People  say  the  kingdom  of  the 
Utopians  will  soon  begin.  One  may  rely  for  that  on  De 
Pradt,  Benjamin  Constant,  Wilson,  as  well  as  Lady  Jersey. 
.  .  .  The  whole  Russian  pohcy  forms  an  interesting 
object  of  observation.  There  are  people  conducting  it 
of  whom  each  one  pursues  a  different  end.  The  Emperor 
has  not  only  returned  to  his  former  views,  but  takes  a 
standpoint  entirely  opposed  to  that  which  he  has  occu- 
pied for  some  years.  Capo  dTstria  must  turn  with  the 
wind,  but  against  his  will,  which  causes  him  to  make  a 
constant  see-saw.  Nesselrode  is  morally  dead  ;  it  is  just 
as  if  he  were  not  there  at  all. 

463.  November  8. — Horrible  weather  !  Winter  has 
begun,  and  will  not  leave  us  again  for  foiir  long  months. 
The  most  beautiful  winter  sun  is  no  sun  to  me,  because 
a  warmer  cold  is  not  warmth,  and  light  alone  is  no  fire. 
The  Congress  has  its  dark  sides  :  first,  the  quantity  of 
work ;  then,  the  small  town  ;  lastly,  the  bad  time  of  year. 
Such  small  details  are  unnoticeable  by  the  Lords  of 
the  Creation,  but  I  find  that  I  never  accomplish  much 
with  a  bad  setting  for  my  work.  Placed  on  the  Tribune 
of  the  Capitol,  I  should  speak  quite  otherwise  than  I 
possibly  can  in  Troppau.  I  require  plenty  of  space,  and 
cannot  accommodate  myself  to  the  small  and  contracted; 

However,  we  are  coming  to  great  and  fitting  results. 

Li  my  whole  life  I  have  only  known  ten  or  twelve 
persons  with  whom  it  was  pleasant  to  speak— 2.  e.  who, 
keep  to  the  subject,  do  not  repeat  themselves,  and  do 
not  talk  of  themselves  ;  men  who  do  not  listen  to  their 
own  voice,  who  are  cultivated  enough  not  to  lose-  them- 
VOL.  III.  D  D 


402     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

selves  in  commonplaces ;  and,  lastly,  who  possess  tact 
and  good  taste  enough  not  to  elevate  their  own  persons 
above  their  subject. 

464.  November  10. — The  friendliness  of  the  Eus- 
sian  Emperor  for  me  continues.  It  is  a  return  to  the 
year  1813.  If  he  had  been  in  the  year  1815  as  he  was 
in  the  year  1813,  there  would  have  been  no  1820. 

455.  November  15. — We  to-day  received  the 
news  of  the  houtade  of  the  regiment  of  SemanofFsky : 
there  is  not  much  in  it,  and  yet  it  is  unpleasant.* 
There  is  nothing  in  the  fact  itself,  but  much  in  the 
significance  which  the  general  pubhc  will  give  to  it. 
Three  couriers  arrived  last  night  one  after  the  other. 
Immediately  afterwards  the  Emperor  Alexander  called 
for  me,  and  told  me  of  the  affair.  We  looked  at  it  exactly 
in  the  same  light.  The  Emperor  has  so  altered  altogether 
that  these  agreements  are  now  more  common. 

The  Emperor  Alexander  thinks  some  ground  must 
have  been  given  to  induce  the  three  thousand  Russian 
soldiers  to  conduct  which  is  so  Httle  in  keeping  with  the 
national  character.  He  thinks,  indeed,  that  the  Eadicals 
have  made  this  stroke  to  intimidate  him  and  bring  about 
his  return  to  St.  Petersburg.  I  do  not  beheve  this ;  it 
would  be  indeed  too  shocking,  if  the  Radicals  in  Russia 
could  already  control  whole  regiments  ;  but  this  shows 
how  the  Emperor  has  altered. 

456.  November  20. — If  I  must  sit  opposite  to  Capo 
dTstria  at  the  Conference  table  and  read  his  elaborations, 
which  is  worse  than  to  hear  him  speak,  I  am  so  confused, 

"*  In  the  orders  of  the  day  left  by  the  Emperor  Alexander,  dated  Troppau, 
NovemLer  14,  we  find,  with  regard  to  this  affair,  that  a  company  of  Seman- 
off'sky's  body-guard  regiment,  renouncing  their  duty  and  their  obedience,  had 
assembled  on  their  own  authority,  late  in  the  evening,  to  make  complaints 
against  their  officers,  and  that,  when  for  this  violence  they  were  put  under 
control,  the  other  companies  refused  to  submit. — Ed. 


CAPO  d'istria.  403 

and  my  thoughts  wander  so  much  that  I  am  always  uneasy 
lest  I  should  perpetrate  some  stupidity.  In  all  the  do- 
cuments sent  forth  the  thoughts  are  mine ;  but  the 
drawing  up  is  by  Capo  d'istria,  in  consequence  of  which 
I  very  often  do  not  recognise  my  own  thoughts.  We 
lose  much  time  in  correcting  and  amending.  Thus  we 
yesterday  had  a  discussion  of  two  hours  over  the  choice 
of  the  two  words  reclamer  and  inviter.  Of  what  avail 
was  it  to  point  out  that  the  word  reclamer  betokens  a 
right,  whilst  inviter  asserts  no  right  ?  The  grammatical 
difficulty  over,  no  other  difficulty  arose. 

It  is  really  inexplicable  how  the  Emperor  Alexander 
can  have  patience  with  Capo  dTstria.  I  am  still  not  quite 
clear  whether  the  Emperor  knows  what  he  wants  ;  but 
his  language  is  as  plain  as  mine.  I  am  on  the  same 
footing  with  him  as  I  was  in  1813,  go  to  him  when  I 
may,  and  we  talk  for  hours  together  without  ever  dis- 
agreeing. 

467.  November  27. — I  consider  the  lawsuit  against 
the  Queen  of  England,  its  beginning,  its  conduct,  and 
its  consequences,  as  one  of  the  most  unfortunate  cata- 
strophes of  our  time.  Everything  suffers  under  this 
scandal — the  public  morals,  the  honour  of  the  throne, 
and  the  honour  of  both  sexes. 

Here,  we  are  gradually  attaining  results.  They  are 
unhappily  not  successful  to  the  degree  I  had  wished  ; 
with  Capo  dlstria  it  is  even  difficult  plainly  to  carry  out 
a  plain  benefit.  The  division  of  our  influence  runs, 
indeed,  as  follows  :  I  shall  gain  eighty-five  per  cent,  of 
the  victories,  and  with  the  rest  he  will  bring  the  world  to 
peace,  reason  to  his  way  of  thinking,  and  sound  human 
sense  to  do  him  honour.  Capo  dlstria  is  not  a  bad  man, 
but,  honestly  speaking,  he  is  a  complete  and  thorough 
fool ;  a  perfect  miracle  of  wrong-headedness.     He  lives 

D  D  2 


404     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICHS   PRIVATE   LETTERS, 

in  a  world  to  wliicli  our  minds  are  often  transported  by 
a  bad  nightmare.  Besides,  he  is  a  man  of  such  over- 
powering vanity  as  passes  human  comprehension ;  yet 
such  a  man  is  placed  in  such  a  position  ! 

458.  November  29. — We  have  just  decided  that  we 
will  await  here  the  answer  from  Naples  :  wait,  at  the 
least,  that  is,  till  the  end  of  December  here — still  many 
days  to  be  consumed,  therefore,  of  that  shoreless  ocean 
which  men  call  Time.  I  arrive  at  the  end  of  one  of  these 
days,  as  I  shall  once  arrive  at  the  end  of  my  existence — 
i.e.  without  having  Uved.  What  remains  of  me  will  by 
that  time  have  been  devoured  by  the  paper- worms  in 
the  chests,  with  the  exception  of  that  which  fifty  years 
after  my  death  will  see  the  light.  Then  my  grand- 
children, if  I  have  the  happiness  of  having  any  to  leave 
behind,  will  learn  that  they  had  a  grandfather  who 
could  see,  think  and  desire. 

I  conferred  this  evening  for  three  hours  with  the 
Emperor  Alexander.  Since  we  have  no  particular  busi- 
ness to  do,  our  conversation  included  the  whole  extent 
of  the  horizon.  People  might  think  that  the  Emperor 
now  first  came  into  the  world  and  opened  his  eyes.  He 
is  now  at  the  point  where  I  was  thirty  years  ago.  Only 
from  a  great  elevation  can  one  see  well  in  this  world ; 
but  first  of  all  one  must  stand  below  in  wind,  rain,  and 
storm,  because  from  so  elevated  a  position  one  can  only 
form  a  true  idea  of  objects  when  we  have  already  seen 
them  closely.  We  do  not  learn  to  fight  in  the  arsenal, 
nor  to  foresee,  defy,  and  master  the  storm  in  a  harbour. 

When  I  think  of  things  in  this  way  I  see  how  easily 
it  might  happen  to  me,  in  case  I  were  a  Eadical  or  a 
demagogue,  to  prostrate  the  mighty  ones  of  this  world. 

459.  December  1. — The  soil  of  Troppau  is  as  greasy 
and  soft  as  butter.     People  paddle  about  in  it  as  if  it 


TROPPAU.  405 

were  iced  cliocolate  ;  so  a  very  good  idea  lias  occurred 
to  the  town  authorities.  As  no  one  can  go  out  of  any 
door  without  sinking  up  to  his  knees,  the  magistrate  has 
had  some  thousand  planks  laid  down  one  after  the  other. 
This  forms  a  narrow  but  very  convenient  path,  which  is 
trodden  daily  by  the  Congress,  the  Court  ladies,  their 
admirers,  and  others.  This  is  all  very  well  when  people 
are  going  in  one  and  the  same  direction,  but  not  so  when 
they  meet ;  the  more  pohte  must  make  way  for  the  less 
pohte,  and  put  at  least  one  foot  off  the  plank.  The 
Emperor  Alexander  walks  every  day  on  these  planks, 
and  of  course  all  men  who  meet  him  walk  into  the  mud  ; 
and  when  any  lady  comes  from  an  opposite  direction 
the  Emperor  himself  must  go  into  the  mud,  unless  she 
contrives  to  do  so  first.  Consequently  there  ensues  a 
fight  in  the  mire  which  would  give  Mr.  Cruikshank 
opportunity  for  endless  caricatures.  Moreover,  what 
happens  to  his  Imperial  Majesty  happens  also  to  the 
most  discreet  Minister  and  clerk.  Since  the  civilisation 
of  the  world,  never  was  such  a  contest  between  duty 
and  disgust,  or  policy  and  mud.  These  walks  are  the 
best  test  of  individual  peculiarities.  They  bring  many 
virtues  to  light — i.e.  neighbourly  love,  respect  for  supe- 
riors, homage  to  the  fair  sex,  &c.  Unhappily  Troppau 
affords  another  and  a  sad  proof  of  how  little  this 
wretched  century  knows  how  to  reward  virtue.  The 
most  virtuous  invariably  step  into  the  mud.  But  enough 
on  this  subject. 

460.  December  5. — It  is  a  pity  that  Nesselrode 
keeps  himself  so  entirely  in  the  background.  I  do  not 
comprehend  how  a  man  can  put  himself  so  completely 
in  the  shade  1  hat  he  should  put  on  another  person's  cloak 
and  wear  a  mask  instead  of  showing  his  own  face.  .   .   . 

In  writing  it  very  often  happens  that  I  leave  out 


406     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICII'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

many  a  verb  or  noun — a  very  bad  habit.  In  my  pri- 
vate office  I  have  a  secretary,  whose  duty  it  is  to  supply 
these  omissions.  As  he  has  filled  this  position  for  ten 
years,  he  knows  my  thoughts  ;  but  sometimes  he  does 
not  succeed  in  guessing,  and  then  he  asks  me.  Generally 
I  take  the  pen  out  of  his  hand  and  strike  out  the  whole 
sentence,  which  is  both  convenient  and  useful,  for  in 
business  one  always  says  rather  too  much  than  too 
little.  .  .  .  A  propos  of  letters,  there  is  in  Paris  a  very 
good  arrangement,  by  which  a  packet  or  letter  can  be 
taken,  and  a  receipt  given  for  it,  with  a  number  and 
device.  The  packet  or  letter  will  then  only  be  given  to 
the  person  who  shows  the  same  number  and  device. 
"Writer  and  receiver  are  by  this  means  for  ever  un- 
known. 

461.  December  11. — We  have  arrived  at  the  end  of 
the  first  act  of  the  play.  As  a  hundred  arrangements 
have  to  be  made,  my  study  is  more  than  ever  like  a 
head-quarters.  The  King  of  Naples  may  come  or  he 
may  stay  away  :  measures  must  be  taken  to  suit  both 
cases.  If  he  does  not  come,  action  must  be  taken  as 
quick  as  lightning,  and  Jupiter  only  can  thunder  by 
knitting  his  eyebrows.  Ah !  what  easy  work  had 
Jupiter ! 

462.  December  15. — The  day  before  yesterday,  in 
the  evening,  I  had  a  remarkable  conversation  with  the 
Emperor  Alexander.  We  remained  from  seven  till  eleven 
o'clock  together.  One  great  proof  of  our  mutual  friendly 
feeling  lies  in  Tea.  If  we  drink  tea  alone  together  we 
agree  very  well. 

That  reminds  me  of  a  story  of  an  acquaintance  of 
mine  in  Paris  who  had  a  mistress.  Daily,  or  rather 
nightly,  he  visited  her  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
talked  with  her  for  an  hour,  then  sat  down  near  her 


THE   EFFECTS   OF   TEA.  407 

bed  and  took  up  his  violin,  wliich  lie  played  'till  six 
o'clock.  Then  the  fair  one  had  to  get  up  ;  he  lay  down 
and  slept  till  two  o'clock.  Now,  if  his  mistress  was 
pleasant  his  violin  was  taken  there  :  if  they  had  a  quarrel 
no  violin  was  to  be  seen.  Tea  is  our  viohn.  If  we  don't 
get  on  well  together — there  is  no  tea. 

During  the  above  conversation  I  expressed  myself 
about  Capo  d'Istria — tea  made  it  more  easy.  After  I 
had  read  to  the  Emperor  a  very  interesting  document, 
I  asked  him,  'Does  your  Majesty  understand  me?' 
'  Yes,  thoroughly.'  '  How  is  it,  then,  that  Capo  d'Istria 
never  understands  me  ?  '  'I  have  often  reproached  him 
with  that :  it  comes  to  this,  that  he  always  thinks  you 
want  something  else.'  '  And  he  is  not  mistaken  ;  above 
all  I  wish  that  with  his  good  heart  he  had  also  a  sound, 
manly  understanding.' 

Thanks  to  tea,  everything  was  well  taken.  Ah  I  if 
that  aromatic  beverage  could  only  set  Capo  d'Istria's  head 
a  little  right !  Good  heavens  !  what  a  cargo  of  tea  would 
I  have  from  China  ! 

463.  December  18. — It  freezes  sharp.  The  boards 
have  become  unnecessary ;  the  whole  country  is  a 
board.  Everything  that  comes  to  us  from  London  is 
most  miserable,  which  neither  astonishes  nor  surprises 
me.  If  I  can  do  what  I  will  with  Capo  d'Istria,  all  will 
go  well  and  quickly.  The  Emperor  Alexander  will  be, 
through  his  Minister,  only  an  obstruction ;  but  for  the 
latter,  everything  would  have  been  iinished  to-day. 

464.  December  20. — This  evening  my  cousin  (Flora 
Wrbna),  who  does  the  honours  in  Troppau,  offered 
Golowkin  a  cup  of  tea.  He  answered  her  with  a 
thoughtfid  air  :  '  Do  not  ask  me,  for  I  like  it,  but  it 
does  not  agree  with  me.  I  am  an  unfortunate  Tea- 
anthropist.' 


408    EXTRACTS  FROM  METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

Golowkin  would  have  less  trouble  if  he  studied  a 
greater  simplicity  of  language.  It  would  have  been  less 
pretentious  of  him  if  he  said  simply,  as  the  lady  said,  '  I 
am  very  glad  not  to  take  spinach,  for  since  I  once  ate  it, 
I  cannot  bear  the  sight  of  it.' 

Here  it  must  be  remarked  that  Golowkin,  who  con- 
siders himself  a  philanthropist,  is  especially  pleased  with 
the  word,  althoug-h  he  neither  knows  the  meaning-  of  the 
thing  nor  that  the  Greek  Anthropos  means  man,  and 
the  first  word  means  friend.  Philo-tea  would,  there- 
fore, be  more  correct,  and  would  sound  better  than 
Tea-anthrope. 

465.  December  21. — Still  no  news  from  Naples — a 
proof  that  the  scamps  there  are  still  quarrelling  :  to  give 
each  other  a  good  beating  they  have  not  the  courage. 

466.  December  23. — One  runs  to  the  other  for  news  : 
'  Are  they  going  ?  '  '  Will  they  wait  ?  '  '  Now  ?  '  '  When  ? ' 
Since  the  invention  of  embassies — a  very  old  and  honour- 
able invention  ;  since  that  of  writing — a  not  less  old  but 
often  less  honourable  invention — I  have  never  experienced 
anything  so  perfect  as  the  silence  of  our  representative 
in  Naples.  But  for  a  httle  Prussian  Jew  who  is  there, 
because  he  is  everywhere,  we  should  know  absolutely 
nothing.  From  the  little  we  learn  from  this  Jew,  we 
imagine  that  the  King  is  coming. 

467.  December  24. — The  courier  has  just  arrived. 
The  King  is  coming,  and  we  are  going  to  Laybach.  I 
start  to-morrow  morning,  my  Emperor  the  next  morn- 
ing, the  Emperor  Alexander  on  the  27th. 

This  is  decisive. 


409 


FURTHER  PROGRESS  OF  THE   VIENNA 
MINISTERIAL   CONFERENCES* 

468.  Metternicli  to  Neumann  (Letter),  Vienna,  January  25,  1820. 

468.  I  liave  no  doubt  that  Lord  Castlereagh  will  be 
satisfied  with  the  turn  which  I  have  been  able  to  give  to 
the  political  and  mihtary  question.  It  is  on  this  ques- 
tion— the  most  important,  without  any  doubt,  for  Austria 
and  Prussia — that  there  have  always  been  the  greatest 
number  of  opposite  ideas  and  wishes  in  the  German 
Courts.  Some,  such  as  Prussia,  wished  for  what  would 
have  been  dangerous  for  the  federation  and  danger- 
ous for  Europe  to  agree  to.  Others,  such  as  Bavaria 
and  Wurtemberg,  have  always  wished  to  isolate  us  in 
this  question  of  federation.  In  case  of  war  between 
Austria,  Prussia,  and  Eussia,  Bavaria  would  thus  be 
found  at  the  head  of  the  purely  German  federation. 
This  attitude  would  have  commenced  by  a  declaration 
of  armed  neutrality.  The  progress  of  events  would 
have  regulated  the  rest  without  the  possibility  of  judg- 
ing of  its  extent. 

The  substance  of  these  thoughts  is  found  in  many 
of  the  instructions  brought  here  by  the  different  pleni- 
potentiaries. It  is  partly  owing  to  the  care  which  I 
have  taken  to  adjourn  the  discussion  on  this  matter  that 

•  In  connection  with  the  documents  of  the  year  1819,  Nos.  374-380, — 
Ed. 


410  CONFERENCES   AT   VIENNA. 

I  have  gained  my  cause.  It  was  necessary  to  establish 
for  the  allies  such  security,  and  even  such  advantages, 
as  to  blind  them  to  what  they  consider  sacrifices. 
The  acts  will  be  submitted  for  the  ratification  of  the 
Courts.  It  is  possible,  and  perhaps  even  probable,  that 
on  this  occasion  Bavaria  and  Wurtemberg  will  make 
some  resistance,  but  they  wall  be  obliged  to  give  way. 
One  does  not  pull  down  a  whole  building  because  one 
corner  is  inconvenient  to  live  in  ;  my  anxiety  is,  so  to 
unite  the  different  parts  of  the  federal  edifice  that  even 
to  wish  to  pull  down  one  is  to  attack  them  all. 

I  have  no  doubt  that  the  complete  result  of  the  Con- 
ference will  be  sent  to  the  Courts  from  the  12th  to  the 
15th  February.  An  immense  work  will  have  been  done 
in  a  very  little  time  !  Only  the  experience  which  I  have 
acquired  in  the  course  of  the  six  last  years  of  Congress 
could  have  brought  about  such  results  as  those  which 
we  offer  to  Europe. 

Metternich  to  Bechberg,  Bavarian  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  Vienna,  end  of  January,  1820. 

469.  ....  The  whole  of  Germany — her  right- 
thinkincf  men  as  well  as  the  others — is  deceived  as  to 
the  object  of  our  meeting  at  Vienna. 

Everybody  thought  we  were  going  to  overthrow  all 
that  is  connected  with  the  forms,  which  unhappily 
have  been  transplanted  to  the  German  soil  (that  soil 
so  historical,  so  classical,  and  so  great),  in  the  course 
of  the  two  or  three  last  years.  Some  have  thought 
we  were  right  to  do  so,  others  have  raised  a  great 
outcry.  Now,  we  are  not  doing  what  tliey  expected, 
and  I  declare  frankly  that  in  my  soul  and  conscience 
I  do  not  allow  myself  to  regret  it,  because  I  cannot 
regret  what  is  impossible. 


METTERNICH  TO  RECHBERG.  411 

This  arises,  too,  from  what  is  now  taking  place 
among  you,  and  what  will  probably  present  itself  still 
more  strikingly  in  Wurtemberg,  as  it  does  everywhere 
and  always,  when  people  only  follow  the  impulse  of 
a  party.  .  .  . 

I  have  taken  care  to  hasten  the  interpretation  of 
Article  XIII.,*  for  I  foresaw  the  necessity  of  removing, 
both  from  you  and  from  Wurtemberg,  the  only  opposi- 
tion which  had  any  real  foundation  in  justice. 

Your  Constitution  is,  without  any  doubt,  the  least 
bad  of  any  in  the  south  of  Germany  ;  whilst  that  of 
Wurtemberg  seems  to  me  not  to  work  well.  I  have 
written  lately  to  St.  Petersburg,  that  I  believe  the  result 
of  our  Conferences  will  be  most  disastrous  for  the  King 
of.  Wurtemberg  and  for  his  people,  seeing  they  will 
be  condemned  to  preserve  their  Constitution. 

This  is  not  exactly  the  case  with  you.  You  can  be 
conservative  without  positive  harm,  and  by  a  vigorous 
regulation  you  may  even  gain  much.  That  this  regu- 
lation should  be  real,  it  appears  to  me  urgent — 

I.  That  it  should  be  adopted  by  all  those  States 
which  are  in  a  position  to  do  so. 

II.  That  to  strengthen  it  still  more,  such  principles 
should  be  expressed  in  our  labours  here  as  may  serve 
for  the  support  of  feeble  or  timorous  Governments. 

I  have  spoken  on  the  first  of  these  subjects  to 
Zentner,f  and  he  agrees  with  me. 

As  for  the  second,  I  shall  find  some  means  of 
bringing  it  forward,  and  I  have  spoken  to  no  one 
about  it. 


*  Article  XIII.  of  the  Federal  Act  concerning  the  affairs  of  the  States 
of  the  liimd.— Ed. 

f  Minister  and  Bavarian  Plenipotentiary  at  the  Vienna  Ministerial  Con- 
fei-ences. — Ed. 


412  CONFERENCES  AT  VIENNA. 

If  you  entertain  my  idea,  try  to  give  some  instruc- 
tions to  your  plenipotentiaries  with  reference  to  it ;  for 
I  have  no  reason  for  not  addressing  myself  directly  to 
Zentner,  if  it  were  not  that  I  desire  to  do  nothing  in 
bavariis  unless  you  take  the  initiative. 

I  extend  this  question  to  one  of  the  gravest  compli- 
cations presented  by  the  form  of  the  new  Constitutions  : 
namely,  the  publicity  of  the  sittings  and  the  shorthand 
writing  of  the  protocols.  I  maintain  that  no  monarchy 
of  less  than  ten  or  twelve  millions  of  people  has  the 
right  to  resist  this  form.  In  the  smaller  States  men 
are  too  close  to  one  another  ;  injuries  are  too  deep, 
and  nothing  can  compensate  for  their  effects,  for  the 
objects  of  ambition  are  too  mean.  I  declare  that, 
as  an  ambitious  man,  I  should  prefer  to  play  the 
part  of  a  Liebenstein  to  that  of  a  Berstett  at  Carls- 
rulie.  .  .  . 

Metternich  to  Neumann^  Vienna^  February  2,  1820. 

470.  I  am  able  to  tell  you  that  all  our  business  here 
is  concluded.  The  most  important  work,  the  longest 
and  the  most  directly  connected  with  the  whole  of  the 
federal  system,  has  already  passed  once  to  the  Plenum 
and  it  has  been  admitted,  except  for  certain  gramma- 
tical errors  which  will  be  corrected  here  in  two  days. 
I  will  send  it  to  you  by  the  next  weekly  courier.  You 
will  not  be  able  to  get  a  clear  idea  of  all  we  have  done 
here  until  you  have  read  it. 

You  will  see  from  it  all  the  work  of  this  grand  Con- 
federation. You  will  see  tlie  rights  and  the  duties  of 
the  allies  stated,  and  the  sphere  of  action  allotted 
to  the  Diet.  I  hope  that  even  M.  de  Capo  d'Istria  will 
end  by  understanding  them  both.  He  will  see  that  the 
Confederation   is  united,  and  that  the  Diet  is  not  its 


METTERNICn   TO   NEUxMANN.  413 

sovereign  ;  that  there  are  several  differences  between 
the  German's  monarchical  confederation  and  the  Swiss 
republican  confederation  ;  that  the  Canton  of  Basle  has 
no  point  of  resemblance  to  Bavaria  or  Prussia,  and  even 
that  the  part  of  Director  Landamman  is  not  that  of 
the  Emperor  of  Austria. 

The  States  of  Baden  are  about  to  reassemble.  This 
fact  will  cause  fresh  discomposure  to  Count  Capo  d'lstria. 
He  will  think  we  are  falling  into  imbecility.  Reassemble 
the  States,  and  make  laws  against  Liberal  assassins ! 
Make  the  laws  of  September  20,  and  talk  no  more  of  it 
at  Vienna  ?  There  is  something  in  all  that,  sufficient 
to  confound  all  systems.  It  is,  in  fact,  that  here 
we  do  not  renew,  but  we  build  up  :  we  do  not  return  to 
what  has  been,  but  we  make  good  laws  aS'^iinst  ex- 
cesses  of  every  kind,  and  we  leave  to  each  State  to 
watch  over  its  own  internal  safety  by  guaranteeing  a 
vigorous  and  general  support  whenever  they  may  re- 
quire it. 

In  a  word,  we  make  peace  and  tranquiUity  in  so  far 
as  laws  can  assure  either. 


414 


WURTEMBERG'S    RESISTANCE     TO     THE    COMPE- 
TENCE OF  THE  CONFERENCES  AT   VIENNA. 

471.  Metternich  to  the  Emperor  Francis. 

471.  Vienna,  March  31,  1820. — Nearly  at  the  end 
of  the  negotiations  which  had  been  so  happily  matured 
here,  an  attempt  is  made  by  the  Eoyal  Court  of  Wurtem- 
bers  to  frustrate  all  that  we  have  endeavoured  to 
accomphsh  during  the  last  four  months. 

That  is,  the  Wurtemberg  Court  objects  to  consider 
these  dehberations  as  finally  concluded  here  in  Vienna, 
but  wishes  them  to  be  regarded  as  merely  preparatory 
works  to  be  concluded  at  the  Diet. 

The  former  would  bring  peace  to  men's  minds,  the 
latter  disquiet.  All  the  German  Governments  have 
openly  shown  their  wish  for  the  welfare  of  the  Bund. 
Your  Majesty  needed  only  to  speak  the  word  and  the 
coalition  took  place,  for  it  was  in  accordance  with  the 
minds  of  the  German  Princes  and  the  enlijThtened 
designs  of  their  plenipotentiaries.  The  King  of  Wur- 
temberg, however,  seems  to  be  otherwise  inclined.  The 
King,  or — as  I  still  venture  to  hope — his  counsellors, 
desire  to  bring  the  wants  of  their  country  again  before 
the  Diet,  although  they  are  already  secured  by  prehmi- 
nary  dehberations,  and  are  inseparable  from  the  general 
welfare  of  all  the  German  Governments.  These  reso- 
lutions of  the  Conference  they  wish  to  produce  at  the 


METTERNICH   TO   EMPEROR   FRANCIS.  415 

Diet,  with  so-called  liberal  explanations,  objections,  and 
phrases  whereby  an  appearance  of  oppression  would  be 
produced  as  to  the  community,  while  the  King  of 
Wurtemberg  would  gain  the  reputation  of  patriotic 
feeling.  The  thing  may,  indeed,  have  to  be  done,  but 
the  King  will  gain  the  appearance  of  only  yielding  to 
force. 

Carlsbad  has  greatly  enlightened  us  on  this  point. 
The  plenipotentiary  from  Wurtemberg  at  that  place 
concluded  almost  every  one  of  his  proposals  with  this 
addition  :  '  That,  however,  it  must  be  drawn  up  by 
the  other  members  of  the  Bund,  and  imposed  on  his 
Eoyal  master.'  In  the  same  way  this  plenipotentiary 
spoke  and  wrote  about  military  demonstrations,  of  the 
concentration  of  the  Imperial  troops  in  Tyrol,  and  of 
Prussian  troops  on  the  Lower  Ehine.  This  was  the 
conduct  of  the  King  at  the  deliberations  in  Frankfurt 
in  the  month  of  September  last,  and  at  his  visit  to 
Warsaw,  as  well  as  since  his  return  to  Stuttgart ;  and 
now  he  behaves  in  the  same  way  here,  and  it  is  beyond 
doubt  that  he  acts  systematically.  .  .  .    " 

The  King  of  Wurtemberg  has  made  an  attempt  in 
which  he  shall  not  succeed.  Your  Majesty's  lirmness 
and  the  excellent  spirit  which  animates  all  the  other 
Governments  and  their  deputies  are  sufficient  to  prevent 
this. 

When  Count  Mandelslohe  made  this  communication 
to  me  I  thought  it  my  duty  to  take  no  step  of  myself 
alone. 

On  the  day  of  battle  every  combatant  must  be 
sure  of  his  next  man,  and  the  German  Bund  can  only 
prosper  under  the  protection  and  guardianship  of  a  firm 
and  united  will.  I  made  this  declaration  verbally  to 
Count  Mandelslohe,  and  immediately  began  to  consult 


416  CONFERENCES   AT   VIENNA.       ' 

the  other  deputies.     From  the  document  annexed  your 
Majesty  will  see  the  prosperous  result  of  this  first  step. 

Furthermore  I  venture  to  lay  before  your  Majesty 
the  sketch  of  a  letter  to  the  King  of  Wurtemberg. 
When  it  has  received  your  Majesty's  signature  I  shall 
immediately  despatch  the  courier  to  Stuttgart. 

Metternich  to  Winzingerode,  Vienna,  March  31,  1820. 

472.  When  handing  to  me  your  Excellency's 
letter  of  the  21st  of  this  month,  Count  von  Mandelslohe 
at  the  same  time  made  the  confidential  communication 
which  he  was  charged  to  present  with  the  protocol  of 
the  Conferences  at  this  place. 

On  this  communication  being  made,  my  first  wish 
was  to  discover  whether  the  Eoyal  Wurtemberg  Court 
declared  against  the  substance  as  well  as  the  form,  or 
only  against  the  latter.  This  is  a  point  of  the  greatest 
importance,  and  one  which  I  was  justified  in  doubting, 
although  in  the  protocol  delivered  mention  is  only  made 
of  the  form. 

It  is  not  merely  whether  the  results  of  the  Con- 
ferences here  are  binding  without  further  discussion  at 
the  Diet,  or  whether  they  must  be  placed  before  the 
Diet  in  the  usual  manner.  The  question  is  of  far 
greater  consequence.  The  Cabinets  assembled  here 
have  worked  out  the  chief  subjects  of  their  negotia- 
tions so  successfully,  they  have  so  happily  settled  what 
is  most  important  for  the  whole  of  Germany — the 
question  of  the  competence  of  the  Bund — that  the 
work  already  accomplished  is  likely  to  fulfil  our  best 
hopes.  Shall  this  hitherto  prosperous  work,  now  so 
far  advanced,  be  fully  accomplished,  or  shall  it  be  put 
aside  as  an  unsuccessful,  useless  attempt  ?  This  is  the 
chief  question  to-day — a  question  which  I  believe  (and 


COUNT   VON  MANDELSLOHE.  417 

my  opinion  is  shared  by  all  the  plenipotentiaries  here 
present)  touches  more  deeply  the  future  fate  of  the 
German  confederacy  than  any  difference  of  opinion 
about  this  or  that  form  to  be  observed  with  recard  to 
the  assembly  of  the  Bund. 

As  Count  von  Mandelslohe  could  not  give  me  much 
real  information  on  tliis  subject,  I  had  further  to 
inquire  whether  he  was  strictly  ordered  to  make  this 
declaration  at  the  first  full  sitting  after  our  conference, 
or  whether  he  was  authorised  to  delay  this  step  till  an 
answer  is  obtained  to  the  present  despatch.  The  Count 
declared  himself  bound  to  execute  his  commission  with- 
out delay. 

Under  these  circumstances  I  could  only  inform 
Count  von  Mandelslohe  that  I  did  not  feel  called  upon 
to  enter  into  the  discussion  and  explanation  of  the  form 
which  had  been  unanimously  Hked  and  agreed  upon  at 
the  eighteenth  session,  and  that  I  could  take  no  further 
step  in  this  matter  without  a  previous  conference  with 
all  the  other  plenipotentiaries.  I  added  the  necessary 
reservation  that  the  protesting  Court  must  be  respon- 
sible for  any  evil  consequences  resulting  from  the 
retardation  of  negotiations  equally  important  for  the 
whole  of  Germany. 

This  conference  I  immediately  arranged  and  the 
result  is : — 

1.  That  no  interruption  must  be  allowed  to  take 
place  in  the  course  of  the  negotiations  here. 

2.  A  unanimous  determination  to  hold  fast  the 
work  which,  after  four  months'  appHcation,  is  so  nearly 
completed,  and  a  general  resolution  of  March  4,  in 
pursuance  of  which  they  mutually  engage  that  none  of 
the  plenipotentiaries  of  this  conference  will  condescend 
to  any  repetition  of  the  deliberations  at  the  Diet. 

VOL.  III.  E  E 


418  CONFERENCES   AT   VIENNA. 

Feeling  the  necessity,  for  the  sake  of  the  German 
Fatherland  and  all  Europe,  of  preventing  the  sad 
spectacle  of  a  fruitless  or  inconclusive  four  months' 
conference  between  the  German  Cabinets,  I  have  taken 
upon  myself  to  communicate  to  your  Excellency  in  the 
enclosure  the  unanimous  opinion  of  the  plenipo- 
tentiaries as  to  the  form  to  be  observed  on  closing  the 
conferences.   .   .   . 

In  fulfilhng  this  duty  I  am  particularly  charged  by 
his  Majesty  the  Emperor  to  declare  solemnly  that,  in 
his  opinion,  there  are  but  two  alternatives  in  the 
manner  of  bringing  the  business  here  to  a  conclu- 
sion : — 

Either  to  issue  the  resolutions  taken  in  Vienna  (as 
results  definitely  accepted)  in  the  form  of  an  Act  ratified 
by  the  Governments  belonging  to  the  Bund,  leaving  it 
to  the  Assembly  of  the  Bund  to  deposit  these  Acts  in 
the  archives  of  the  Bund,  and  publish  them  in  the  usual 
constitutional  manner  ; 

Or  to  make  known  these  resolutions  to  the  Diet  in 
the  form  of  a  Presidential  Eeport,  all  the  Governments 
pledging  themselves  to  direct  their  deputies  at  the  Diet 
to  give  an  absolute  consent. 

All  tlie  votes  have  been  given  in  favour  of  the 
former  of  these  modes.  It  was  all  the  more  necessary 
to  reject  the  latter  as  his  Majesty  the  Emperor  (for 
reasons  shown  in  the  enclosure)  feels  obliged  totally  to 
decline  any  co-operation  in  this  form. 

His  Majesty  the  Emperor  does  not  acknowledge  a 
third  mode.  He  is  firmly  determined  to  ground  no 
Presidential  Eeport  on  a  merely  preliminary  and  pro- 
visional agreement  on  the  matters  negotiated  here,  and 
not  to  allow  what  is  already — by  the  most  careful  dis- 
cussion  and  dehberation   of  all   German   Courts    and 


METTERNICH   TO   WINTZINGERODE.  419 

Cabinets — on  the  point  of  accomplishment,  to  be  again 
called  in  question. 

Your  Excellency  will  see  from  this  paper  and  its 
enclosure,  not  only  the  opinion  of  all  the  German 
Cabinets,  but  also  that  it  thoroughly  coincides  with 
that  of  his  Majesty  the  Emperor. 

The  desire  which  animates  the  Emperor,  no  less  than 
aU  the  members  of  the  Bund,  to  secure  the  welfare  and 
maintenance  of  the  German  Bund  in  the  most  prompt 
and  judicious  way  to  which  their  general  competence 
extends — the  real  existence  of  which  desire  is  proved 
by  the  course  hitherto  taken  by  the  negotiations  here 
and  by  the  present  step — justifies  the  expectation  that 
the  Kino^  of  Wurtemberj?  will  not  refuse  his  consent 
and  co-operation  in  a  work  hitherto  carried  on  un- 
interruptedly in  the  glorious  harmony  so  beneficial  for 
Germany. 

Metternich  to  Wintzingerode,  Vienna,  March  31,  1820. 

473.  You  will  receive  to-day  communications  of  the 
greatest  importance.  The  moment  is  come.  Count,  when 
all  that  is  hard  of  understanding  must  be  understood, 
and  all  that  is  not  clear  must  be  made  so.  It  is  impos- 
sible that  all  the  Courts  of  Germany  should  have  met 
together  for  five  months  in  the  same  harmonious  spirit, 
with  the  same  feeling  of  the  necessity  for  consolidating 
their  federal  relations,  that  our  conferences  should  draw 
near  to  their  close,  and  that  all  that  has  been  said  and 
done  should  only  benefit  the  enemies  of  general  order. 
And  yet  this  would  certainly  be  the  case  if  what  has 
led  to  an  harmonious  agreement  should  be  relinquished 
at  the  very  moment  of  this  agreement. 

I  venture  to  flatter  myself  that  the  details  into  which 
I  entered  in  my  official  letter  will  remove  the  feeling 

E  E  2 


420  CONFERENCES  AT  VIENNA. 

which  could  only  have  arisen  from  some  great  mis- 
take. You  believe  that  Austria  and  perhaps  Aus- 
tria and  Prussia  wish  to  exercise  a  pressure  on  their 
allies.  The  fact  is  not  so ;  the  Emperor  knows  the 
dangers  of  the  moment  and  the  necessities  of  all 
times.  .  .  . 

I  fi'ankly  confess  that  I  do  not  comprehend  the 
declaration  which  M.  de  Mandelslohe  has  been  ordered 
to  insert  in  the  protocol.  The  case  is  plain,  although  1 
do  not  allow  myself  to  attach  to  it  the  only  definite 
interpretation  of  which  it  seems  to  admit.  If  it  has  not 
this  meaning,  the  letters  I  send  you  ought  to  remove 
all  difficulties  :  if  this  is  not  the  case,  the  cause  will  not 
be  far  to  seek.  You  wish  to  prevent  what  has  for  five 
years  been  impracticable  at  Frankfurt,  but  is  now  about 
to  be  concluded  under  the  immediate  influence  of  the 
Cabinets,  from  coming  to  anything. 

You  are  very  badly  served  here.  Mandelslohe 
acts  the  man  of  honour  ;  Trott  does  his  part — and  the 
part  of  men  behind  the  scenes  never  is  to  arrange 
affairs.  To  place  two  such  individuals  as  you  have  is 
the  most  certain  means,  not  to  correct  mistakes,  but  to 
embroil  everything,  and  render  all  efforts  abortive. 

You  will  see  that  I  am  too  much  occupied  with  the 
one  affair  to  be  inclined  to  return  to  my  last  letters. 
Your  reply,  far  from  proving  that  I  may  be  deceived, 
proves  on  the  contrary  that  I  am  right  in  everything. 
Yes,  I  know  all  that  has  passed  since  Carlsbad ;  I 
know  what  you  call  a  momentary  support  in  public 
opinion,  the  only  advantage  that  you  have  obtained. 
Against  whom  is  this  ephemeral  support  required  ? 
Is  it  against  the  enemies  of  social  order  or  against 
your  allies  ?  .  .  .  If  at  Stuttgart  they  think  that  Aus- 
tria's pohcy  is  small,  very  tortuous,  and  very  dangerous 


METTERNICH  TO   WINTZINGERODE.  421 

to  those  who  allow  themselves  to  be  deceived,  at  least 
the  ]\iinister  for  Foreign  Affairs  for  Wiirtemberir  could 
never  reproach  the  Emperor's  minister  with  perplexing 
him  with  a  very  diplomatic  controversy. 

There  is  only  one  passage  to  be  remarked  on  in 
your  last  confidential  letter.  You  say  to  me,  '  Pray  do 
not  forget  that  we  have  a  Constitution  and  responsible 
ministers.' 

I  do  not,  in  fact,  know  of  Constitution  and  responsible 
ministers  anything  which  concerns  the  question  with 
which  we  are  occupied.  The  Constitutions  are  in  the 
Confederation,  and  neither  above  nor  below  it.  The 
responsibihty  of  ministers  does  not  concern  the  Con- 
federation. You  are  responsible  for  the  employment  of 
your  public  money  and  the  acts  of  your  administration. 
If  you  admit  that  the  Confederation  can  suffer  in  its 
vital  principle  from  the  responsibility,  you  must  at  least 
also  grant  to  this  same  Confederation  the  right  of 
naming  the  ministers.  Ask  your  soi-disant  friends  of 
the  people  if  they  do  not  find  my  axiom  correct :  they 
will  be  ready  to  reply  in  the  affirmative.  But  what 
will  become  of  the  sovereignty  of  your  King  if  men 
like  Jahn  and  Arndt  are  produced  in  Germany  ? 

I  wait  patiently  for  the  new  orders  your  plenipo- 
tentiary will  receive.  .  .  ."' 

*  The  result  is  known.  The  King  of  Wurtemberg  gave  up  his  opposi- 
tion and  empowered  his  ambassadors  to  sign  the  document.  See  No.  47o. — • 
Ed. 


422 


METTERNICH'S  GERMAN  POLICY. 

Metternich  to  Berstett,  the  Ambassador  from  Baden  at  the 
Austrian  Court,  Vienna,  May  4,  1820. 

474.  Your  Excellency  has  informed  me  of  the 
wish  of  his  Eoyal  Highness  the  Archduke  of  Baden  to 
be  exactly  informed  of  the  ideas  of  the  Imperial  Cabinet 
on  the  political  state  of  Germany.  This  challenge  on 
the  part  of  a  Prince  who  shows  daily  the  most  praise- 
worthy marks  of  his  strong  desire  to  support  the  right, 
and  his  thorough  knowledge  of  the  elements  that  oppose 
it,  is  the  more  honourable  for  me,  as  it  imposes  on  me 
the  duty  of  apprising  your  Excellency  unreservedly  of 
the  point  of  view  from  which  the  present  state  of  things 
has  to  be  considered. 

Time  moves  on  amid  storms  :  the  attempt  to  check 
their  violence  would  be  vain.  Firmness,  moderation, 
and  a  union  of  well-directed  forces — this  is  all  that 
remains  to  the  defenders  and  friends  of  order ;  in  this 
alone  lies  at  present  the  duty  of  all  sovereigns  and 
right-minded  statesmen,  and  he  only  will  have  deserved 
this  title  in  the  day  of  peril  who,  having  satisfied  him- 
self of  what  is  possible  and  just,  suffers  not  himself  to 
be  turned  aside  from  the  noble  aim  of  his  eflbrts  either 
by  impotent  wishes  or  by  relaxing  his  zeal.  The  object 
is  easy  of  definition  :  in  our  times  it  is  neither  more  nor 
less  than  the  maintenance  of  what  already  exists.  This 
is  the  only  means  of  preservation  ;  and  it  is  perhaps  the 
most  likely  method  of  regaining  what  has  been  already 


METTERNICH'S   GERMAN   POLICY.  423 

lost.  For  this  end,  therefore,  the  efforts  of  everyone 
must  be  combined  as  well  as  the  measures  of  all  those 
whom  one  and  the  same  principle,  one  and  the  same 
interest,  unite.  Combustible  matters  long  in  prepara- 
tion broke  forth  in  the  epoch  between  1817  and  1820. 
The  false  step  which  was  taken  by  the  French  Ministry 
during  this  period  ;  the  toleration  which  was  evinced 
in  Germany  to  these  dangerous  doctrines  ;  the  weakness 
shown  in  suppressing  the  abuses  of  the  press ;  the  pre- 
cipitation, finally,  with  which  Constitutions  were  given 
to  the  States  of  Southern  Germany — all  these  causes 
have  excited  the  parties  whom  nothing  can  please  to 
the  most  miserable  abuses. 

Nothing  shows  the  impossibihty  of  pleasing  these 
parties  more  than  to  remark  that  the  most  active  in- 
trigues have  taken  place  exactly  in  that  very  State 
where  the  most  indulgence  Avas  shown  to  their  supposed 
wishes. 

The  evil  had  reached  such  a  height  before  the  Con- 
gress  at  Carlsbad  that  only  some  trifling  poHtical  com- 
bination was  needed  completely  to  overthrow  social 
order.  The  wisdom  of  the  system  adopted  by  the  great 
Courts  has  protected  us  from  this  danger,  which  might 
even  at  this  moment  be  fatal.  What  course,  then,  must 
an  enlightened  Government  take  under  such  circum- 
stances ?  By  putting  this  question  the  possibility  of 
salvation  is  taken  for  granted,  and  we  beheve  we  are 
justified  in  such  a  hope. 

When  we  now  examine  the  means  by  which  we  are 
to  attain  so  great  an  end,  we  find  ourselves  led  back  to 
the  point  from  whence  we  started.  In  aiming  at  a 
happier  future,  we  must  at  least  make  certain  of  the 
present  ;  the  preservation  of  that  which  is  must  con- 
sequently be  the  first  of  all  cares.     And  by  this  we 


424  CONFERENCES   AT   VIENNA. 

mean,  not  only  the  old  order  of  things  as  they  have 
been  preserved  m  some  countries,  but  also  all  the  new 
legally-constructed  institutions.  The  importance  of 
preserving  them  firm  and  steady  is  evident  from  the 
attacks  which  have  been  directed  against  them,  with  a 
perhaps  still  greater  irritation  than  against  the  old  in- 
stitutions. At  the  present  time  the  change  from  old  to 
new  is  attended  with  as  much  danger  as  the  return 
from  the  new  to  what  no  longer  exists.  Both  may 
equally  bring  about  the  outbreak  of  disturbances  which 
it  is  important  to  avoid  at  any  price. 

To  deviate  in  no  way  from  the  established  order, 
whatever  may  be  its  origin,  and  where  alterations  are 
absolutely  necessary  to  make  them  only  with  entire 
freedom  and  well-considered  resolution — this  is  the  first 
duty  of  a  Government  that  desires  to  resist  the  evils  of 
the  age.  Such  a  resolution,  however  just  and  natural 
it  may  be,  will  certainly  cause  obstinate  conflicts  ;  but 
the  advantag;e  of  buildincr  on  a  known  and  recognised 
basis  is  evident,  because  this  gives  a  firm  point  from 
which  it  will  be  easy  to  examine  and  frustrate  the 
necessarily  uncertain  movements  of  the  enemy  in  all 
directions. 

We  consider  as  perfectly  unfounded  the  objection 
which  might  possibly  be  raised,  '  that  amongst  the  Con- 
stitutions hitherto  given  in  Germany  there  is  none  which 
rests  on  any  foundation  :  that,  therefore,  none  of  them 
offers  a  point  of  support.'  If  this  were  so,  the  inde- 
fatigable demagogues  would  not  have  given  up  under- 
mining those  Constitutions.  Every  order  of  things 
legally  introduced  bears  in  itself  the  principle  of  a  better 
system  ;  they  must  therefore  be  the  work  of  caprice 
or  of  a  wild  delusion,  hke  the  Constitution  of  the  Cortes 
of  181 2.     Moreover,  a  Charter  is  not  a  real  Constitu- 


METTERNICH'S   GERMAN   POLICY.  425 

tion  ;  this  forms  itself  with  time  alone,  and  it  always 
depends  on  the  judgment  and  will  of  Governments  to 
direct  the  development  of  the  constitutional  manner  of 
government,  to  separate  good  from  evil,  to  strengthen 
the  pubhc  authority,  and  to  protect  the  peace  and  hap- 
piness of  the  nation  from  every  hostile  attack.  Two 
great  means  of  salvation  are  at  present  secure  to  every 
Government  which,  from  a  feeling  of  its  dignity  and 
duty,  is  resolved  not  to  ruin  itself.  One  of  these  means 
consists  of  the  happy  conviction  that  no  misunder- 
standing prevails  among  the  European  Powers,  and 
that  also,  according  to  the  unalterable  principles  of 
monarchy,  none  is  to  be  anticipated.  This  fact,  which 
is  beyond  any  doubt,  secures  and  guarantees  our  posi- 
tion and  our  strength.  The  other  means  is  the  union 
formed  between  the  German  States  during  the  last 
nine  months,  a  union  which,  with  God's  help,  will 
become  indissoluble. 

The  conferences  of  Carlsbad  and  the  resolutions 
prepared  there  have  acted  more  powerfully  and  more 
beneficially  than  we  may  perhaps  acknowledge  to  our- 
selves at  a  moment  when  we  still  feel  the  embarrass- 
ments which  constrain  us,  and  when  we  can  only 
superficially  estimate  all  tlie  advantages  which  have 
been  gained.  Important  measures  of  that  kind  can 
only  be  estimated  at  their  full  value  when  all  theii* 
results  are  to  be  seen.  These,  however,  cannot  be  seen 
in  the  epoch  immediately  following ;  but  we  may 
already  calculate  the  efl'ects  of  the  resolutions  of  Sep- 
tember 2  by  considering  the  probable  advances  which 
the  enemies  of  the  public  order  would  have  made 
without  them. 

The  results  of  the  conferences  in  Vienna,  although 
of  the  grandest  kind,  are  not  so  brilliant  in  their  im- 


426  CONFEKENCES  AT  VIENNA. 

mediate  effects,  but  are  all  the  deeper  and  more  lasting. 
The  consohdation  of  the  German  Bund  now  affords  to 
each  of  the  States  of  which  it  consists  an  effectual 
guarantee— an  inestimable  advantage,  which  could  only 
be  certainly  secured  by  the  course  which  has  been 
taken.  The  uprightness  and  moderation  with  which 
this  important  work  was  carried  on  may  have  delayed 
us  and  prevented  bolder  and  more  vigorous  measures  ; 
but,  even  supposing  these  had  been  possible,  the  work 
would  have  been  wanting  in  one  of  its  most  essential 
conditions — namely,  the  free  conviction  and  sincere 
confidence  of  all  who  take  part  in  it.  Nothing  could 
compensate  for  such  a  want,  which  would  have  been 
especially  felt  when  the  resolutions  adopted  under  such 
auspices  had  to  be  carried  out.  Generally  speaking, 
moral  strength  is  as  great  a  necessity  to  the  Bund  as 
legislative  power,  and  the  increased  conviction  of  the 
necessity  for  this  league  and  of  its  beneficial  results  is 
in  our  opinion  the  most  important  and  fortunate  result. 
The  rules  to  be  observed  in  future  by  the  German 
Governments  may  be  pointed  out  in  a  few  words.  They 
are : — 

1.  Confidence  in  the  duration  of  a  state  of  peace  in 
Europe,  and  in  the  harmony  of  the  principles  guiding 
the  great  Powers. 

2.  Conscientious  attention  to  their  own  system  of 
administration. 

3.  Perseverance  in  maintaining  the  legal  principles 
of  existing  Constitutions  and  a  firm  determination  to 
defend  them  against  every  attack ;  but  also  at  the  same 
time — 

4.  The  removal  of  the  principal  defects  in  these 
Constitutions,  carried  out  by  the  Government  on  adequate 
grounds.     Lastly, 


METTERNICH'S  GERMAN  POLICY.  427 

5.  In  case  of  our  own  resources  being  insufficient, 
the  Bund  may  be  appealed  to  for  support,  a  support 
which  every  member  has  the  most  sacred  right  of  de- 
manding, and  which  can  less  than  ever  be  refused  after 
the  present  determinations.  This  is,  according  to  our 
judgment,  the  only  beneficial,  legal,  and  enduring 
course.  The  pohtical  system  of  his  Majesty  the  Em- 
peror rests  on  the  same  foundations,  and  Austria,  in- 
wardly calm  in  the  possession  of  an  imposing  assemblage 
of  intellectual  force  and  material  means,  will  not  use 
them  merely  for  her  own  support,  but  will  always 
apply  them  for  the  benefit  of  her  alhes  whenever  duty 
and  prudence  require  it  of  her. 

I  wish  that  your  Excellency  may  take  the  oppor- 
tunity of  this  candid  representation  to  offer  to  the 
Archduke  a  new  proof  of  our  true  feelings,  and  of  the 
lively  interest  which  the  Imperial  Eoyal  Court  takes  in 
gratifying  his  Eoyal  Highness,  as  well  as  in  the  welfare 
and  security  of  his  States. 


428 


RESULTS  OF  THE  MINISTERIAL   CONFERENCES 

IN   VIENNA. 

Metternich  to  the  Emperor  Francis,  Vienna,  May  17, 1820. 

475.  The  consent  of  the  Court  of  Wurtemberg 
to  our  ClosiniT  Act  has  arrived  this  evening.  In  a  full 
sitting,  which  I  have  fixed  for  to-morrow  morning,  the 
protocol  about  this  first  part  of  our  business  here  will 
be  concluded,  and  the  day  after  to-morrow  I  shall  bring 
the  Acts  to  be  signed. 

The  second  part — the  instructions  for  the  assembly 
of  the  Bund — has  meantime  so  far  advanced  that  we 
shall  be  able  to  dissolve  our  conference  on  the  21st  or 
22nd  of  this  month. 

The  work  having  reached  its  termination  here,  all 
has  been  done  that  could  be  done  at  present,  and  I 
already  see  the  consequences  which  the  propriety  of 
our  course  will  make  more  and  more  manifest  every 
day.  All  the  ministers  are  making  preparations  for 
their  departure,  and  there  is  not  one  who  did  not  ask 
from  me  to-day  instructions  as  to  the  course  to  be 
taken  in  future  by  his  Court  in  regard  both  to  policy 
and  administration.  One  word  spoken  by  Austria  will 
be  inviolable  law  throughout  all  Germany.  Now  first 
will  the  Carlsbad  measures  come  into  their  true  life, 
and  all  those  which  are  requisite  for  the  peace  of  Ger- 
many will  be  quite  naturally  added.* 

*  The  document  generally  known  under  the  name  of  '  The  Concluding 
Acts  of  Vienna,'  in  sixty-five  articles,  treats  of  the  measures  for  the  security 


RESULTS.  429 

I  intend,  if  nothing  happens  to  prevent  me,  to  start 
from  here  on  the  24th,  and  to  be  with  your  Majesty  at 
Prague  on  the  26th.  Metternich. 

I  am  glad  to  know  this,  and  I  expect  you  with  real 
pleasure.  Francis. 

Prague,  May  17,  1820. 

Sketch  of  a  Statement  to  he  made  hy  the  President. 

476.  At  the  session  of  the  Diet  on  September  20 
last  year,  it  was  resolved,  on  the  report  of  the  Presi- 
dent, to  ask  for  instructions  as  to  various  points  most 
important  for  the  improvement  of  the  Bund,  so  that 
these  points  could  be  discussed  immediately  after  the 
reopening  of  the  session,  and  brought  at  once  to  a 
definite  conclusion. 

Meanwhile  his  Majesty  the  Emperor,  my  most 
gracious  master,  guided  by  the  conviction  that  it  is 
not  only  the  common  interest  but  also  the  common 
wish  of  all  your  allies  in  the  Bund  to  develop,  improve, 
and  strengthen  the  indissoluble  union  by  strictly  main- 
tainino;  the  original  convention  with  all  its  aims,  has 
caused  Ministerial  Conferences  to  be  held  in  Vienna  to 
which  all  the  Governments  of  the  Bund  have  sent  their 
plenipotentiaries.  These  conferences  should,  according 
to  their  original  purpose,  lead  to  direct  communication 
and  discussion  of  opinions  on  both  sides,  and  a  common 
understanding  on  the  subjects  on  which  instructions 
are  to  be  given. 

of  the  public  rights  of  the  members  of  the  Bund  by  a  permanent  court,  as 
well  as  the  introduction  of  a  definite  order  concerning  the  execution  of  the 
sentences  pronounced  by  this  tribunal ;  it  refers  to  various  military  questions ; 
it  gives  the  authentic  interpretation  of  Article  XIII.  of  the  Acts  of  the 
Bund,  and  regulates  the  relations  of  the  single  States  to  the  Bund.  By  a 
resolution  of  the  Diet  of  June  8  the  '  Concluding  Acts '  were  raised  to  a 
fmidamental  law  of  the  Bund  and  published  as  such. — Ed. 


430  CONFERENCES  AT  VIENNA. 

At  the  negotiations  opened  for  that  purpose  it  was 
soon  evident,  however,  that  by  a  thorough  treatment  of 
the  proposed  subjects  many  others  connected  with  them 
would  be  drawn  into  the  discussion — subjects  which  had 
been  already  discussed  at  the  Diet,  but  which  had 
remained  undecided  or  been  regulated  provisionally. 
At  the  same  time  it  was  acknowledged  on  all  sides  that 
the  first  condition  of  successful  progress  in  the  legisla- 
tion of  the  Bund  Avas  an  exact  definition  of  the  nature 
of  the  Bund  and  the  circumstances,  duties,  and  rights 
resulting  from  it. 

The  business  resting  on  these  principles  presented, 
during  its  whole  course,  a  remarkable  example  of  har- 
mony, public  spirit,  and  mutual  confidence,  the  surest 
pledge  of  the  future  strength  of  the  German  Bund. 
Gradually  the  resolution  was  formed  to  bring  together 
the  chief  results  of  the  conferences  into  one  whole, 
which,  being  immediately  derived  from  the  Acts  of 
Confederation,  should  have  the  same  force  and  legality 
as  that  fundamental  law — thus  satisfying  the  general 
desire  for  the  completion  and  development  of  that  law, 
and  facilitating  the  conduct  of  affairs  at  the  Diet. 

But  this  work  required  a  peculiar  form,  because  it 
differed  essentially  in  origin,  contents,  and  aim  from 
common  instructions  on  a  particular  subject,  or  only 
introducing  further  deliberations.  It  was,  therefore, 
resolved  to  include  the  above-mentioned  chief  results 
of  the  negotiations  held  in  Vienna  in  an  Act  drawn  up 
by  the  assembled  plenipotentiaries  in  the  name  of  their 
Governments,  to  have  this  Act  presented  to  the  Diet  in 
the  usual  constitutional  way,  and  to  let  it  be  there  de- 
clared law  in  a  formal  resolution. 

Accordingly,  I  am  directed  by  my  Court  to  lay 
before  this  honourable  assembly  the  '  Concluding  Acts  ' 


EESULTS.  431 

of  the  IVIinisterial  Conferences  on  tlie  development  and 
strengthening  of  the  Bund,  requesting  at  the  same  time 
that  a  resolution  be  drawn  up,  as  agreed  upon,  and 
signed  by  all  the  ambassadors  in  the  name  of  their 
respective  Governments. 

The  Austrian  Vote. 

The  Imperial  Eoyal  Embassy  is  instructed  to  declare 
by  protocol  the  consent  and  approbation  of  their  Court 
to  the  elevation  of  this  Act  to  be  a  law  of  the  Bund, 
according  to  the  agreement  made,  and  to  deposit  the 
original  in  the  archives  of  the  Bund,  adding  a  copy  of 
it  to  the  protocol. 

Sketch  of  the  Resolution. 

1.  The  Concluding  Acts  of  the  IMinisterial  Conferences 
at  Vienna,  drawn  up  by  the  plenipotentiaries  of  all  the 
States  of  the  Bund  for  the  development  and  strengthen- 
ing of  the  Bund,  is  to  be  raised  to  be  a  fundamental 
law,  equal  in  power  and  legal  force  to  the  Acts  of  the 
Bund, 

2.  The  original  document  in  question,  duly  signed 
and  attested,  is  to  be  deposited  in  the  archives  of  the 
Bund ;  and 

3.  A  copy  of  it  is  to  be  added  to  the  present 
protocol. 


432 


STATE  OF  POLITICAL   AFFAIRS  IN  MAY  1820. 
Metternich  to  the  Emperor  Francis,  Vienna,  May  18, 1820. 

477.  Nothing  of  an  unexpected  nature  has  hap- 
pened in  the  political  world  since  your  Majesty's  de- 
parture. 

In  France  there  is  a  great  conflict  of  parties.  The 
Ministry  stands  firm  ;  the  election  law  will  pass. 

In  Eniiland  the  relation  between  the  Kincr  arid  the 
Ministry  is  very  gloomy.  The  cause  of  this  is  the 
Queen,  who  is  in  Paris,  and  who  either  goes  to  England 
herself  or  works  as  a  partisan  for  the  Opposition.  The 
proceedings  against  the  Radicals  have  come  to  a  fa- 
vourable termination. 

Anarchy  is  seen  in  Spain  day  by  day  more  dis- 
tinctly. The  revolution  of  March  8  will  soon  bear  its 
bitter  fruits. 

A  courier  has  arrived  here  to-day  from  Eussia.  The 
Emperor  thinks  a  great  deal  of  the  Spanish  cause  mo- 
rally, but  he  will  not  insist  upon  taking  an  active  part. 

I  merely  signify  to  your  Majesty  the  present  state  of 
things  most  respectfully,  but  in  the  shortest  possible 
manner. 

The  collection  of  Reports  I  will  myself  lay  before 
your  Majesty,  as  I  need  them  for  the  despatches  which 
I  must  still  send  out  before  my  departure. 

The  King  of  Prussia  does  not  accept  your  Majesty's 
invitation,  for  it  just  happens  to  fall  at  the  time  of  his 
daughter's  marriage  with  the  Archduke  of  Mecklenburg. 
The  show  of  politeness  has  therefore  been  made,  and  your 
Majesty  is  set  free  as  to  your  Majesty's  travelHng  plans. 


433 


AUSTRIA'S  POSITION  WITH  REGARD  TO  THE 
REVOLUTION  IN  NAPLES,  AND  BAVARIA'S 
AGREEMENT   WITH  METTERNICHS  POLICY. 

Metternich  to  Count  Eechberg,  Foreign  Minister  at  Munich, 

Vienna,  July  26,  1820. 

478.  The  late  events  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples 
have  shown  more  evidently  and  significantly  than  any 
former  occurrence  of  this  kind  that,  even  in  a  well- 
regulated  and  well-governed  State,  among  a  quiet, 
peaceable  nation,  contented  and  satisfied  with  their 
Government,  the  pernicious  influence  of  revolutionary 
sects  can  cause  the  most  violent  agitation,  and  quickly 
lead  to  an  entire  revolution.  For  it  has  been  certainly 
proved  that  the  movements  of  the  Carbonari  alone, 
without  any  foreign  impulse,  without  even  a  show  of 
pretext,  have  excited  those  rebellious  movements  which 
have  induced  his  Majesty  the  King  of  Naples,  in  a 
moment  of  embarrassment,  to  lay  down  the  govern- 
ment, dissolve  all  existing  authority,  and  proclaim  a 
Constitution  strange  to  his  country,  which  even  where 
it  is  found  is  still  new  and  untried — in  other  words,  he 
has  proclaimed  anarchy  as  law. 

His  Majesty  the  Emperor  is  convinced  that  this  un- 
expected event  will  have  made  the  greatest  impression 
on  all  German  Courts.  It  teaches,  by  a  remarkable 
example,  the  danger  of  looking  with  scornful  indif- 
ference on  the  action  of  secret  unions  and  stealthy  con- 
spiracies, and  shows  the  wisdom  of  the  German  Princes 
VOL.  III.  F  F 


434    AUSTRIA  AND   THE   NEAPOLITAN  REVOLUTION. 

in  opposing  with  vigilance  and  severity  the  first  symp- 
toms of  such  criminal  attempts. 

His  Majesty  the  Emperor  is  particularly  interested 
in  these  unfortunate  incidents  by  his  poUtical  and  per- 
sonal ties,  by  his  relationship  with  several  Itahan 
princes,  and  by  the  geographical  situation  of  his  own 
countries.  The  political  order  of  things  established  in 
1815,  and  guaranteed  by  all  the  European  Powers,  has 
made  Austria  the  natural  warder  and  protector  of  public 
p)eace  in  Italy.  The  Emperor  is  firmly  determined  to 
fulfil  this  high  vocation,  to  keep  away  all  peace-dis- 
turbing movements  from  his  frontiers  and  those  of  his 
nearest  neighbours,  to  allow  no  infringement  of  the 
rights  of  the  Italian  Princes,  and  if  legal  and  adminis- 
trative  precautions  should  not  afford  sufficient  jDrotec- 
tion,  he  will  resort  to  the  most  vigorous  measures. 

Fortunately,  the  present  position  of  the  European 
Powers,  and  the  peaceful  spirit  which  animates  them 
all,  are  pledges  that  such  measures  would  not  provoke 
political  hostiUties  or  wars.  In  case  force  (which  his 
Majesty's  well-known  love  of  justice  and  clemency  will 
only  employ  in  the  greatest  necessity)  should  be  un- 
avoidable, it  would  only  be  used  against  rebels  in  arms, 
and  never  against  a  legitimate  power. 

But  even  in  this  case  (only  alluded  to  with  the 
greatest  reluctance)  the  Emperor  would  not  claim  im- 
mediate assistance  on  the  part  of  his  allies  in  the  Ger- 
man Bund.  The  measures  requisite  for  the  maintenance 
of  peace  and  order  in  Italy  lie  entirely  beyond  the  sphere 
of  co-operation  of  the  German  Bund  as  it  was  originally 
settled ;  and,  far  from  intending  to  deviate  from  estab- 
lished principles,  his  Majesty  is  ready  to  make  every 
effort  and  every  sacrifice  to  prevent  such  co-operation 
being  required,  and  to  put  forth  all  his  strength  to  avert 


METTERNICH  TO  COUNT  RECHBEKG.  435 

such  danger  from  the  frontiers  of  the  States  of  the  Ger- 
man Bund. 

In  return,  it  is  certainly  desirable  and  important 
that  Austria,  while  devoting  her  care  and  strength  to  a 
matter  of  public  benefit,  should  be  able  confidently  to 
rely  upon  undisturbed  peace  in  the  interior  of  Germany. 
However  much  now,  or  in  future,  the  fate  of  Italy  may 
occupy  the  Emperor's  attention,  his  Majesty  will  always 
feel  the  same  lively  interest  in  German  affairs,  and  fulfill 
to  the  utmost  his  duties  as  a  member  of  the  Bund.  But 
it  is  the  greatest  satisfaction  and  consolation  to  know 
that  there  need  be  no  fear  for  our  Fatherland  as  long  as 
the  German  Courts  are  guided  by  the  strong  feeling  of 
the  duty  imposed  on  them  by  the  present  critical  state 
of  the  political  world,  and  by  'that  spirit  of  harmony, 
firmness  and  wisdom  which  revealed  itself  so  unmis- 
takably during  the  last  negotiations  at  Vienna  (and 
even  since  the  conclusion  of  the  negotiations)  on  the  part 
of  the  chief  German  Governments.  A  great  honour  is 
reserved  for  Germany,  if  she  finds  in  the  prudence  and 
resolution  of  her  rulers,  in  the  steadfast  support  of  her 
existing  Constitutions,  in  the  loyal  feelings  of  her  people, 
and  in  the  powerful  guarantee  of  the  alliance  of  the 
Bund,  the  means  and  power  she  needs  in  this  stormy 
time  to  preserve  and  maintain  her  inward  peace,  her 
lawful  order,  her  independence,  her  dignity,  and  her 
ancient  character.  His  Majesty  is  convinced  that  none 
of  your  noble  allies  in  the  Bund  wiU  be  insensible  to 
glory  of  this  kind ;  and  you  will  one  day  congratulate 
yourself  when  called  upon  to  accept  your  share  in  it, 
conscious  of  having  spared  no  effort,  no  sacrifice,  for  so 
great  and  glorious  an  aim. 

At  a  time  when  the  latest  events  in  Italy  appeal 
only  too  strongly  to  the  attention  of  the  German  Courts, 

P  F  2 


436     AUSTRIA   AND   THE   NEAPOLITAN   REVOLUTION. 

liis  Imperial  Majesty  considers  it  fitting  to  express  to 
his  allies  in  the  Bund  his  own  opinions,  as  well  as  his 
firm  confidence  in  his  Majesty  the  King. 
With  the  greatest  respect,  &c.  &c.* 

Gentz  to  Mettemich,  Salzburg,  August  1,  1820. 

479 On  Sunday  at  eleven  o'clock  I  be- 
took myself  to  Nymphenburg.  The  King  received  me 
with  his  usual  kindness  and  afiabihty.  He  had  just 
received  the  declaration  from  Count  Eechberg  (No. 
478),  and  promised  to  read  it  with  the  most  serious 
attention.  This  gave  me  the  opportunity  of  speaking 
of  its  contents,  to  which  he  listened  with  an  uncon- 
cealed '  Bravo  ! '  He  expressed  himself  thus  : — '  That 
the  firmness  of  his  Majesty  the  Emperor,  his  calm 
steadfastness  in  good  and  evil  days,  is  well  known  to 
him,  and  that  he  (the  King)  can  easily  imagine  what  the 
Emperor  must  think  of  such  scandals  as  the  revolution 
in  Naples ;  that  all  of  us  must  thank  God  that  we  have 
still  in  Germany  a  man  like  the  Emperor  to  take  the 
lead.'  He  said  that  he  (the  King)  was  as  far  from 
being  a  friend  of  Constitutions  as  the  Emperor,  and  that 
if  the  .  .  .  Congress  of  Vienna  in  1815  had  not  spoiled 
his  whole  game,  he  certainly  would  never  have  com- 
mitted himself  so  far.  That,  however,  he  has  come  off 
with  little  injury,  and  that  he  will  not  be  led  on    one 

step  further  by  the  d .     During   this   tirade  some 

angry,  but  only  passing,  blows  were  struck  at  former 
times  and  occurrences  between  the  Imperial  and 
Bavarian  Courts,  and  the  whole  ended  with  a  very 
goodnatured  and  honourable  declaration  about  the 
great  fame  your  Highness  has  lately  acquired  in  Ger  . 
many. 

*  SLmilar  declarations  were  also  sent  to  the  other  German  Courts. — Ed. 


GENTZ  TO  METTERNICH.  437 

The  King  then  read  me  his  latest  letters  from 
Naples,  which  came  down  to  the  15th.  His  only 
anxiety  seemed  to  be  lest  we  might  not  send  troops 
enough  to  Italy.  He  said  he  had  heard  of  twenty 
thousand  men,  which  did  not  please  him.  I  said  that, 
of  course,  I  did  not  yet  know  anything  definite  on  this 
point,  and  that  his  Majesty  was  well  aware  that  large 
armies  could  not  be  put  in  motion  in  a  few  days  or 
weeks.  From  the  point  of  view  taken  in  Vienna, 
however,  I  felt  confident  that  Austria  would  not  be 
wanting  in  anything  requisite  for  her  own  safety  and 
the  protection  of  her  nearest  neighbours. 

The  King  seemed  to  fear  nothing  from  Sardinia. 
He  gave  me  to  understand  he  had  good  reason  to 
believe  that  the  King  of  Sardinia  'would  not  bite,' 
especially  if  the  Carbonari  exercised  much  influence  on 
Genoa.  He  must  resolutely  join  for  hfe  and  death  with 
Austria,  for  no  revolution  could  be  tolerated.  I  per- 
fectly agreed  with  this  very  just  remark. 

According  to  an  idle  rumour,  which  has  circulated 
in  Munich  for  more  than  a  fortnight,  and  which  tlie 
King  also  mentioned,  the  Neapohtan  Court  was  said  to 
have  begged  auxihary  troops  from  Austria  before  the 
outbreak  of  the  insurrection,  which  could  not  be 
granted,  because  the  Russian  ambassador  in  Eome  had 
declared  he  must  protest  against  every  Austrian  march 
of  troops.  I  assured  the  King,  and  all  those  who  asked 
me  about  this  affair,  that  the  whole  story  was  false  from 
beginning  to  end,  and  probably  spread  abroad  by  the 
Carbonari  from  very  intelligible  motives. 

The  King — who  does  not  seem  to  love  the  Emperor 
Alexander  very  much — -expressed  his  anxiety  lest  he 
might,  in  our  sense  perhaps,  '  immediately  put  his 
hand  to  the  work'  in  Italy,  which  would  always   be 


438     AUSTRIA   AND   THE   NEAPOLITAN  REVOLUTION. 

hazardous.  I  answered  tliat,  of  late  years,  the  Emperor 
Alexander  has  shown  only  the  best  and  noblest  senti- 
ments, and  that,  however  important,  under  present 
circumstances,  his  moral  and  political  agreement  with 
our  Court  might  be,  any  obtrusion  of  substantial  help 
by  him  was  not  to  be  thought  of  and  not  needed  by 
Austria. 

Amongst  others  the  King  put  this  strange  question — 
whether  I  did  not  beheve  the  Crown  Prince  of  Naples 
had  a  direct  share  in  the  conspiracy.  I  assured  him 
I  had  never  heard  the  least  hint  of  his ;  whereat  the 
King  rephed  very  significantly,  '  I  beheve  it  is  quite 
certain,  and  for  this  very  reason,  that  my  son — who, 
as  you  know,  also  loves  Liberal  principles — has  told  me 
a  great  deal  too  much  good  of  him.' 

The  King  beheves  that  Eeggio — a  great  place  of 
meeting  for  the  Carbonari  in  Upper  Italy — and  Modena 
generally  are  seriously  threatened. 

The  conversation  then  returned  to  Germany.  The 
King  did  not  speak  favourably  of  the  King  of  Wurtem- 
berg,  and  still  less  so  of  his  minister ;  neither  did  he 
seem  to  have  a  good  opinion  of  the  Grand  Duke  of  Baden. 

At  last  I  turned  the  conversation  to  Baron  Zentner, 
and  his  honourable  conduct  in  Vienna.  What  I  said 
seemed  to  please  the  King  exceedingly  ;  and  when  I 
further  told  him  that  your  Highness  had  particularly 
charged  me  to  express  to  Count  Eechberg  your  deep 
satisfaction  with  the  whole  course  so  far  of  the  assembly 
of  the  Bund,  and  added  that '  I  knew  from  your  Highness 
that  the  Emperor  had  several  times  spoken  in  the  same 
sense,'  it  could  not  escape  me  with  what  hvely  interest 
the  King  hstened  to  all  I  said. 

My  audience  lasted  about  an  hour  and  a  half.     His 
Majesty  dismissed  me  with  the  words,  '  That  I  might 


GENTZ   TO   METTERNICri.  439 

greet  your  Highness  in  the  most  friendly  manner  from 
him.' 

Afterwards  I  was  invited  to  dinner  at  Count  Rech- 
berg's,  where  Baron  Zentner,  Count  Thurheim,  Count 
Arco,  Baron  Hruby,  and  otliers  were  present. 

After  dinner  I  had  my  last  and,  if  not  most  impor 
tant,  yet  most  solemn  conversation  with  Count  Eechberg. 
He  led  Baron  Zentner  and  myself  into  an  anteroom, 
and  here  he  made  a  sort  of  poHtical  confession,  from 
which  I  mention  only  the  following  remarkable  words : — 
'1  begin  by  passing  judgment  on  myself.  For  fif- 
teen years  I  have,  prepossessed  by  old  prejudices,  op- 
posed Austria  as  an  enemy.  I  accuse  myself,  but  I 
excuse  myself  also.  My  opinion  was  the  reflection  of 
that  which  universally  obtained  in  my  fatherland,  and 
although  I  might  have  corrected  many  a  false  opinion 
in  Vienna,  the  noble  principles  of  his  Majesty  the 
Emperor  at  that  time  appeared  to  me  only  through 
dim  and  often  distorting  glasses.  It  is  one  of  the  ever- 
enduring  services  of  Prince  Metternich  to  have  first 
shown  the  true  character  of  the  Austrian  policy,  not 
only  to  Bavaria,  but  also  to  all  Germany.  To  consider 
Austria  now  as  anything  but  a  beneficent  and  protect- 
ing power  would  be  to  fight  against  reason  and  our 
own  interests  :  with  Austria  Bavaria  must  in  future  stand 
or  fall.  We — at  least  all  who  think  honestly  amongst 
us — heartily  acknowledge  this  ;  we  wish  we  could 
express  it  with  a  hundred  voices.  How  far  other 
German  Courts  participate  in  these  feelings  I  cannot 
decide,  but  they  all  acknowledge  it,  and  even  Wurtem- 
berg  cannot  but  see  that  she  would  not  long  exist 
without  Austria.' 

He  had  tears  in  his  eyes  when  he  spoke  these 
words. 


440     AUSTKIA   AND   THE   NEAPOLITAN   REVOLUTION. 

He  then  begged  me  to  report  to  your  Highness 
'  that  he  thought  the  declaration  he  received  yesterday 
in  the  highest  degree  just,  consolatory,  and  glorious  for 
Austria — one  which  could  not  fail  to  produce  a  very 
great  impression,  K  Austria  had  been  uncertain,  if 
she  had  hesitated  at  this  important  moment,  he  would, 
for  his  part,  have  given  up  Europe  as  lost.  Now  he 
could  still  see  hope,  and  if  all  German  Courts  would  do 
their  duty,  as  Bavaria  was  determined  to  do,  he  thought 
he  might  assure  your  Highness  that,  in  spite  of  the 
restless  machinations  of  the  enemy,  peace  would  not  be 
disturbed  in  Germany.' 

Baron  Zentner  joined  in  every  word  of  these  declar- 
ations. .  ,  . 

I  have  very  much  regretted  that  I  was  not  able  to 
speak  to  Prince  Wrede.  He  was  not  in  Munich,  and 
I  could  not  meet  him  in  Mondsee,  because  he  left  that 
place  the  very  day  that  I  left  Municli,  and  took  the 
Eesrensbercf  road  to  his  distant  estates. 

I  left  Munich  on  the  morning  of  Monday,  the  31st, 
and  arrived  yesterday  about  noon  in  Salzburg,  where  I 
found  very  unfavourable  accounts  concerning  my 
further  journey  to  Gastein. 

Metternich  to  Gentz,  Vienna,  August  10,  1820. 

480.  I  received  your  Eeport  from  Salzburg,  my 
dear  Gentz.  I  immediately  laid  it  before  the  Emperor, 
and  he  has  done  it  the  full  justice  it  deserves.  The 
picture  of  Munich  is  quite  true,  the  elements  that  rule 
there  are  such  as  you  describe  ;  and  I  am  rejoiced  that 
you  see  that  I  was  under  no  delusion  as  to  the  people 
and  the  situation.  ... 

Nothing  decided  can  yet  be  said  from  Italy — there, 


METTERNICH   TO   GENTZ.  441 

as  everywhere  else,  the  immediate  future  is  uncertain. 
The  Governments  desire  what  is  right:  will  they  be 
steadfast  in  the  day  of  danger?  Our  position  alone 
puts  a  curb  on  Italy  at  present.  In  Naples  no  one, 
not  even  the  first  leaders,  know  where  they  are  going, 
where  they  can  go,  or  even  where  they  w^ant  to  go. 
There  the  revolution  has  really  dropped  from  the 
clouds ;  it  lies  like  a  spectre  on  the  land.  Those  who 
summoned  it  have  gained  their  end  so  quickly  that 
they  are  quite  astonished  to  be  suddenly  obhged  to 
rule  ;  and  turn  the  thing  as  you  will,  there  remain 
always  the  same  wants  and  the  same  means  of  Govern- 
ment. The  State  needs  money ;  it  requires  to  be 
guarded  ;  justice  must  be  administered.  From  whence 
is  the  money  to  come  ?  from  whence  the  protection  and 
the  justice  ?  I  believe,  if  the  game  were  not  too  dan- 
gerous, the  best  means  of  quieting  the  babblers  in  the 
opposition  would  be  to  select  here  and  there  some,  and 
lay  upon  them  at  once  the  affairs  of  government.  This 
is  the  situation  of  the  Neapolitan  rulers,  and  the  part 
they  play  is  very  different  from  that  in  Spain,  for  with 
them  everything  was  good,  and  now  mtist  become 
absolutely  bad.  Nobody  will  pay,  and  nobody  wi'll  obey. 
The  return  of  Prince  Cariati  must  have  caused  a  fright- 
ful  sensation. 

Things  look  very  dangerous  in  the  Eoman  district. 
But  when  common  sense  is  so  shaken  and  perplexed  as 
it  now  is,  one  can  no  longer  calculate  on  the  future. 
I  freely  confess,  therefore,  that  I  know  not  what  can  or 
will  be  the  end  of  the  affair.  However,  we  are  here 
quiet,  and  with  our  great  resources  may  go  calmly  for- 
ward. 

In  France  the  Neapolitan  event  has  caused  quite  a 
sensation.      At   the   first   glance   the    communications 


442     AUSTRIA   AND   THE   NEArOLITAN   REVOLUTION. 

from  the  Cabinet  seem  to  be  jjood.  No  one  will  be 
turned  out  of  doors  by  Pepe  and  liis  companions. 

In  St.  Petersburg  the  Neapolitan  news  has  arrived 
after  the  King's  departure  ;  in  the  course  of  a  few 
days  we  shall  know  the  impression  it  has  made  on  him. 
Meantime,  the  peasants  on  the  Don  have  taken  up 
arms  on  hearing  that  the  Emperor  had  declared  the 
peasants  from  Esthonia  and  Courland  free,  asserting  their 
desire  to  be  free  also.  Many  troops  have  marched  there 
to  drive  out  the  Liberal  devil  with  the  knout. 

Prom  Germany  I  have  always  quiet,  unimportant 
news.  On  all  sides  we  are  entreated,  for  God's  sake,  to 
send  a  great  many  troops  to  Italy.  By  September 
85,000  men  will  be  on  the  spot. 

I  hope  soon  to  see  you  again.  I  miss  you  very 
much,  especially  at  the  present  moment. 


443 


RESULTS  OF  THE  TROPPAU  CONGRESS.* 

Metternich  to  the  Emperor  Francis,  Troppau,  Novemher 

6,  1820. 

481.  In  order  to  bring  about  the  fullest  under- 
standing, I  wrote  down  the  annexed  paper  (482)  during 
the  conversation  that  took  place  to-day  between  the 
three  Cabinets. 

The  Eussian  Ministers  agreed  that  it  suitably  ex- 
pressed the  feeling  of  their  master.  I  lay  it  before 
your  Majesty  for  approval,  to  know  whether  I  may 
dehver  it  as  truly  representing  your  Majesty's  opinion. 

Principles  of  the  Policy  of  Intervention. 
(Enclosed  with  No.  481.) 

482.  The  allies  agree  together  : — 

1.  That  their  aim  and  object,  moral  as  well  as 
physical,  is  not  hmited  to  giving  liberty  of  thought  and 
action  to  legitimate  power,  but  is  also  to  enable  that 
power  to  consolidate  and  strengthen  itself  in  such  a  way 
as  to  guarantee  peace  and  stability  to  the  kingdom  and 
to  Europe. 

2.  They  recognise  that  to  this  end  the  power  should, 

*  At  the  Congress  of  Troppaii,  assembled  at  Metternich's  sugg-estion, 
there  were  the  Emperor  Francis  of  Austria,  the  Emperor  Alexander  and 
Grand-Duke  Nicholas  of  Russia,  King  Frederick  William  III.  of  Prussia, 
with  the  Crown  Prince,  the  diplomatists,  Metternich,  Zichy,  Gentz,  Mercy  (for 
Austria),  Nesselrode,  Capo  d'Istria,  Golowkin,  Alopaus  (for  Russia),  Harden- 
berg,  Bernstorff  (for  Prussia),  Stewart  (for  England),  De  la  Ferronays  (for 
France"). — Ed. 


444  THE  TEOPPAU   CONGRESS. 

in   its   reconstruction,    consult    the  true  interests    and 
needs  of  tlie  country. 

3.  That  what  the  King  in  his  wisdom  considers 
satisfactory  for  the  interests  of  the  kingdom,  and  con- 
sequently satisfactory  to  the  sound  part  of  the  nation, 
will  be  taken  as  the  legal  basis  of  the  order  to  be  estab- 
lished in  the  kingdom  of  Naples. 


Approved  and  accepted. 

Francis. 

Circular  Despatch  of  the  Courts  of  Austria,  Russia,  and 
Prussia,  to  their  Anibassadors  and  Agents  at  the 
German  and  Northern  Courts,  Troppau,  December 
8,  1820. 

484.  The  events  of  March  8  in  Spain,  and  July  2 
in  Naples,  and  the  catastrophe  in  Portugal,  must  cause 
in  all  those  who  have  to  care  for  the  peace  of  States  a 
deep  feeling  of  grief  and  anxiety,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
a  necessity  for  meeting,  in  order  to  consider  in  common 
how  best  to  meet  the  evils  which  threaten  to  break  out 
all  over  Europe. 

It  was  natural  that  these  feelings  should  be  very 
active  in  those  particular  Powers  which  had  lately 
conquered  revolution,  and  now  saw  it  raising  its  head 
again ;  and  also  natural  that  these  Powers,  in  resisting 
the  revolution  for  the  third  time,  should  resort  to  the 
same  means  which  they  had  used  so  happily  in  the 
memorable  combat  which  dehvered  Europe  from  a 
twenty  years'  yoke. 

Everything  justified  the  hope  that  this  union,  formed 
under  the  most  dangerous  circumstances,  crowned  with 
the  most  brilliant  success,  fostered  by  the  negotiations 
of  1814,  1815,  and  1818,  as  it  had  released  the  Euro- 


CIRCULAR   DESRATCH.  445 

pean  continent  from  the  military  despotism  of  the 
representative  of  revolution,  and  brought  peace  to  the 
world,  would  be  able  to  curb  a  new  force  not  less 
tyrannical  and  not  less  to  be  despised — the  poAver  of 
rebellion  and  outrage. 

These  were  the  motives,  and  the  purpose,  of  the 
meeting  in  Troppau.  The  former  are  so  evident  that 
they  do  not  require  an  explanation :  the  latter  is  so 
honourable  and  beneficial  that  doubtless  the  wishes  of 
all  honourable  men  will  follow  the  alHed  Courts  in  their 
noble  career. 

The  business  which  is  imposed  on  them  by  the  most 
sacred  obligations  is  great  and  difficult ;  but  a  happy 
presentiment  bids  them  hope  for  the  attainment  of  their 
aim  by  a  firm  maintenance  of  the  spirit  of  those  treaties 
to  which  Europe  owes  peace  and  unity  among  her  States. 

The  Powers  exercise  an  indisputable  right  in  con- 
templating common  measures  of  safety  against  States 
in  which  the  Government  has  been  overthrown  by  rebel- 
lion, and  which,  if  only  as  an  example,  must  conse- 
quently be  treated  as  hostile  to  all  lawful  constitutions 
and  Governments.  The  exercise  of  this  right  becomes 
still  more  urgent  when  revolutionists  endeavour  to  spread 
to  neighbouring  countries  the  misfortunes  which  they 
had  brought  upon  themselves,  scattering  rebellion  and 
confusion  around. 

Such  a  position,  such  proceedings  are  an  evident 
violation  of  contract,  which  guarantees  to  all  the 
European  Governments,  besides  the  inviolabihty  of 
their  territories,  the  enjoyment  of  those  peaceful 
relations  which  exclude  the  possibility  of  encroachment 
on  either  side. 

The  allied  Courts  took  incontestable  fact  as  their 
starting-point,  and  those  ministers    who  could   be    at 


446  rilE  TROPPAU  CONGEESS. 

Troppau  itself  supplied  with  definite  instructions  from 
their  monarchs,  therefore  made  an  agreement  as  to  the 
principles  to  be  followed  as  to  States  whose  form  of 
government  has  been  violently  disturbed,  and  as  to  the 
peaceful  or  forcible  measures  to  be  adopted  to  lead  such 
States  back  into  the  Bund. 

The  results  of  their  deliberations  they  communicated 
to  the  Courts  of  Paris  and  London,  that  those  Courts 
might  take  them  into  consideration. 

Since  the  Neapohtan  revolution  takes  daily  fresh 
root ;  since  no  other  endangers  so  directly  the  peace  of 
the  neighbouring  States  ;  since  no  other  can  be  acted 
upon  so  immediately,  the  necessity  of  proceeding  on  the 
above-mentioned  principles  with  regard  to  the  king- 
dom of  Both  the  Sicilies  soon  became  evident. 

To  bring  about  conciliatory  measures  to  that  end, 
the  monarchs  assembled  at  Troppau  resolved  to  invite 
the  King  of  Both  Sicilies  to  meet  them  at  Laybach,  a 
step  which  would  free  the  will  of  his  Majesty  from 
every  outward  constraint,  and  put  the  King  in  the 
position  of  a  mediator  between  his  deluded  and  erring 
subjects  and  the  States  whose  peace  was  threatened  by 
them.  Since  the  monarchs  were  determined  not  to 
acknowledge  Governments  created  by  open  rebelhon, 
they  could  enter  into  a  negotiation  with  the  person  of  the 
King  only.  Their  ministers  and  agents  in  Naples  have 
received  the  necessary  instructions  for  that  purpose. 

France  and  England  have  been  asked  to  take  part 
in  this  step,  and  it  is  to  be  expected  that  they  will  not 
refuse  their  consent,  since  the  principle  on  which  the 
invitation  rests  is  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  agree- 
ments formerly  concluded  by  them,  and  is  also  a  pledge 
of  the  most  upright  and  peaceable  feelings.* 

*  England,  according  to  a  despatch  dated  January  17,  1821,  declined  to 


CIRCULAR   DESPATCH.  447 

The  system  established  between  Austria,  Prussia,  and 
Eussia  is  no  new  one  ;  it  rests  on  the  same  maxims 
which  formed  the  foundation  of  the  agreements  by 
which  the  union  of  the  European  States  in  the  Bund 
has  been  effected.  The  hearty  concord  existing  between 
the  Courts  which  form  the  centre  of  this  confederation 
can  only  be  strengthened  by  it.  The  Bund  will  be  main- 
tained on  the  same  footing  as  that  on  which  it  was  placed 
by  the  Powers  to  whom  it  owes  its  existence,  and  as  it 
has  been  gradually  accepted  by  all,  from  the  conviction 
entertained  of  its  evident  and  undoubted  advantages. 

No  further  proof,  however,  is  required  that  the 
Powers  have  not  been  guided  in  their  resolutions  by  the 
thought  of  conquest  or  the  desire  of  interfering  with 
the  internal  affairs  of  other  Governments.  They  want 
nothing  but  to  maintain  peace,  to  free  Europe  from  the 
scourge  of  revolution,  and  to  avert,  or  shorten  as  much 
as  possible,  the  mischief  arising  from  the  violation  of 
all  the  principles  of  order  and  morahty.  Under  such 
conditions  they  think  themselves  justified  in  claiming 
the  unanimous  approbation  of  the  world  as  a  reward 
for  their  cares  and  their  efforts. 

Metternich  to  Count  Bechberg,  Vienna^  December  31, 1820. 

485.  I  take  advantage,  my  dear  Count,  of  the  first 
moment  at  my  disposal,  which  is  the  last  of  my  stay 
here,  to  give  you  some  account  of  what  has  been  done 
and  what  is  going  to  be  done.   ... 

Here  are  the  facts  in  all  their  simplicity. 

Any  catastrophe  such  as  that  of  Naples  presents  dif- 
ferent periods,  whether  regarded   from  a  domestic  or 

ioin  in  the  measure  in  question.  Not  so  France,  whose  King  wi-ote  to  the 
King  of  Naples  urging  him  to  accept  the  invitation  of  the  allied  monarclis. — 
Ed. 


448  THE   TROPPAU   CONGRESS. 

foreign  point  of  view.  The  revolt  breaks  out ;  it  is 
indubitable  and  evident ;  it  is  the  beginning  of  a  con- 
flagration ;  if  they  are  in  good  order,  take  your  fire- 
engines  there  ;  ask  no  questions  ;  do  not  hesitate  ; 
extinguish  the  fire  ;  success  will  be  certain.  Do  not 
take  empty  fire-engines,  but  let  them  be  well  filled. 

Then  comes  the  second  period.  The  revolt  takes 
the  appearance  of  Eeform.  A  feeble  sovereign  swears 
to  put  a  knife  to  his  throat.  A  chorus  of  Liberals  and 
Eadicals  join  in  his  hymns  ;  the  sovereign  is  jDraised  to 
the  skies  ;  and  the  people  seem  to  adore  him.  Milk  and 
honey  are  to  flow  in  all  the  veins  of  the  State  abandoned 
to  anarchy  ;  tyrants  alone  could  hinder  the  develop- 
ment of  so  fine  a  work  ! 

This  is  the  history  of  the  months  of  July  to  No- 
vember. 

Our  fire-engines  were  not  full  in  July,  otherwise  we 
should  have  set  to  work  immediately. 

In  the  second  period,  it  did  not  seem  to  us  that  our 
neutral  attitude  was  sufficient ;  the  Naples  affair  threat- 
ened Italy,  Austria,  Europe  equally.  It  is  tlierefore 
for  the  latter  to  declare  itself  in  principle  with  us.  We 
take  upon  ourselves  the  material  part.  To  go  to  Naples 
is  nothing  at  any  time,  but  to  remain  at  Naples  and  re- 
establish order  in  the  kingdom  of  the  Two  Sicilies  is 
certainly  more  difficult. 

Europe  has  frankly  and  well  seconded  us.  We,  who 
were  free  to  hold  whatever  language  we  liked,  have 
spoken :  those  of  our  allies  who  could  do  the  same  have 
done  so.  Those  who  are  more  bound  by  forms  have 
acted  according  to  our  principles.  The  Neapolitan  revolt 
and  all  its  charms  have  been  put  in  quarantine.  You 
have  done  more  than  even  the  great  English  and  French. 
You  have  sent  back  the  agent  of  the  Carbonari  who 


METTERNICH  TO  COUNT  RECHBERG.  449 

came  to  boast  to  you  of  the  happiness  of  his  country  ; 
you  have  done  this,  my  dear  Count,  and  it  was  worthy 
of  you. 

Agreed  in  their  principles  at  Troppau,  the  three 
Cabinets  have  carried  them  into  effect.  The  idea  of 
inviting  the  King  to  meet  us  at  Laybach  was  accept- 
able. This  invitation  was  made  on  very  simple,  but  the 
only  correct  grounds.  You  know  the  autograph  letters 
of  the  Sovereigns  :  they  are  all  friendly,  for  no  one  is  an 
enemy  of  the  King.  The  ostensible  instructions  for  our 
plenipotentiaries  were  more  precise.  They  were  ordered 
to  declare — 

1st.  That  the  Powers  would  never  recognise  any- 
thinsf  which  is  the  work  of  the  rebellion. 

2nd.  That  before  resorting  to  extreme  measures, 
they  desire  to  exhaust  every  means  of  conciliation,  not 
between  the  rebellion  and  lawful  j^ower,  but  between  the  real 
interests  of  the  kingdom  and  those  of  Italy  and  Europe. 
That,  knowing  but  one  proper  instrument  for  a  work  so 
great  and  salutary,  his  Majesty  the  King  was  invited  to 
meet  the  three  monarchs. 

3rd.  That  at  Naples  it  is  asserted  that  the  King  is 
free.  That  the  King,  being  free,  should  feel  it  his  duty 
to  take  upon  himself  this  great  work  ;  that  if  the  King 
did  not  come  he  would  be  surrendered. 

4th.  That  as  the  King's  person  is  not  on  this  occa- 
sion to  be  replaced  by  any  other,  the  invitation  is  per- 
sonal. That  our  ambassadors  would  in  consequence 
refuse  passports  to  any  other  individual,  were  it  even  a 
Prince  of  the  Royal  House ;  that  on  the  other  hand,  it 
would  depend  upon  the  King  to  be  accompanied  by 
whomsoever  his  Majesty  should  think  fit. 

5th.  That  the  King,  if  he  were  prevented  from 
VOL.  m.  G  G 


450  CONGRESS   AT  TROPPAU. 

leaving  the  Kingdom,  should  be  placed  under  the  safe- 
guard and  responsibility  of  every  Neapolitan. 

The  order  has  gone,  and  there  is  not  a  folly  that  our 
agents  have  not  committed.  Unhappily,  there  is  not  a 
single  head  among  them.  These  stormy  times,  my  dear 
Count,  are  weak  in  heads. 

What  we  had  foreseen  came  to  pass  among  the 
parties  at  Naples.  The  Eadicals  and  Doctrinaires,  or,  if 
you  like  it  better,  the  Demagogues  and  the  Liberals, 
who  at  Naples  call  themselves  Carbonari  and  Muratistes^ 
are  divided  ;  they  had  agreed  together  before,  during, 
and  after  July,  with  the  sole  object  of  overthrowing  the 
existing  order  of  things,  and  we  were  certain  that  the 
Muratists  (who  must  be  ruined  in  any  state  of  the  case) 
would  try  to  make  the  King  go.  But  they  went  further  : 
they  wished  to  turn  the  circumstance  to  advantage  to 
overthrow  Carbonarism  and  assert  themselves.  This  is 
the  secret  of  the  declaration  of  December  7  last.  And 
to  do  this  the  better,  they  placed  our  ambassadors  in 
a  false  light  by  making  them  be  present  at  a  Council 
where  the  Duke  of  Calabria  produced  that  declaration, 
while  the  Neapolitan  ministers  were  met  together  in 
another  room  close  by.  Zurlo,  who  had  conceived  the 
project,  sent  the  declaration  in  haste  into  the  provinces 
in  the  hope  of  exciting  there  a  strong  feeling  in  favour 
of  Liberalism  :  but  its  lani?uag:e  was  like  so  much  He- 
brew  to  tlie  Neapolitans.  The  funds  rose  ;  the  Par- 
liament, which  is  merely  the  elite  of  the  sect,  attacked 
the  Ministry,  and  once  more  the  Doctrinaires  must  be 
convinced  that  in  revolutions  (which  they  will  adore 
none  the  less)  they  are,  and  always  will  be,  crushed  by 
the  extreme  parties. 

The  man  who  desires  the  whole  is  very  strong  in 
comparison  with  him  who  only  desires  the  half. 


METTERNICH   TO   COUNT   RECHBERQ.  451 

Our  ambassadors  not  only  took  no  part  in  this 
action,  but  tliey  declared  themselves  incompetent.  Why 
then  sit  at  the  round  table? 

But  ffood  often  comes  out  of  evil.  We  should  have 
had  to  fight  the  Muratistes  at  Lay  bach.  They  died  on 
the  road,  and  of  the  two  I  prefer  to  take  in  hand  Car- 
bonarism  rather  than  Liberalism,  and  you  will  be  of  my 
opinion.  The  importance  which  the  King  and  his 
Government,  including  the  Prince  Eoyal,  attach  to  the 
oath  of  July  8,  was  proved  on  December  7. 

But,  however,  there  is  the  King.  From  this  moment 
everything  is  simplified,  and  the  positions  are  made  clear. 
The  King's  duty  is  to  speak  and  enhghten  his  people. 
He  has  to  pacify  his  kingdom  and  organise  it  so  as  to 
procure  present  and  future  peace.  At  the  same  time 
he  must  do  nothing  which  will  disturb  the  repose  of  his 
neighbours  ;  and  it  is  for  them  to  guard  against  that. 
We  have  also  invited  the  Princes  of  Italy  to  send  repre- 
sentatives to  Laybach.  Austria  will  furnish  the  means 
of  pacification,  and  the  Powers,  including  Austria,  will 
guarantee  the  results,  and  these  results  we  are  to  bring 
about. 

Here  then,  my  dear  Count,  is  a  very  short  state- 
ment, and  a  very  heavy  budget. 

Naples  has  in  the  mean  time  exhausted  her  treasury. 
Pifteen  millions  of  ducats  have  been  wasted  in  four 
months  ;  there  are  no  soldiers,  no  arms ;  no  place  is 
provisioned ;  but  the  Carbonari,  who  had  not  a  sou^ 
begin  to  feel  their  pockets  filling,  while  the  proprietors 
feel  theirs  empty :  undoubted  benefits  resulting  from 
this  beautiful  enterprise  which  the  Duke  de  Campo- 
chiaro,  at  the  commencement  of  his  ministry,  assured 
me  was  quite  falsely  called  a  revolution,  being  nothing 
but  a  little  family  arrangement. 

G  Q  2 


452  CONGRESS  AT  TROPPAU. 

Now  see  liow  thino-s  stand.  The  first  moments  at 
Laybach  will  decide  the  development  of  affairs.  Be 
quite  easy,  my  dear  Count  ;  we  shall  not  swerve  from 
our  principles. 

You  will  be  grateful  to  me  for  writing  such  a  long 
letter  at  the  very  moment  of  my  departure,  though  per- 
haps it  shows  signs  of  my  haste ;  but  as  I  wish  you  to 
know  how  things  are,  the  principles  which  guide  us, 
and  to  give  you  a  new  proof  of  my  confidence,  1  do  not 
deserve  any  credit. 

To  conclude,  this  letter  is  only  for  the  King,  your- 
self, and  the  Marshal. 

Adieu,  my  dear  Count.  The  King  of  Naples  will  be 
at  Laybach  on  the  5th,  the  Emperor  of  Austria  on  the 
Gth,  and  the  Emperor  of  Eussia  on  the  7th  of  January. 
I  shall  be  there  on  the  5th. 

Accept  my  good  wishes  for  the  new  year,  and,  in 
it,  may  the  same  friendship  and  confidence  unite  us  as 
in  that  which  is  passing  away. 


453 


METTERNICE'S  POLITICAL   CONFESSION  OF 

FAITH. 

486.  Metternich  to  the  Emperor  Francis  (Report),  Troppau,  December  2, 
1820. 

486.  May  it  please  your  Majesty  to  receive 
enclosed  my  '  Confession  of  Faith '  to  the  Emperor 
Alexander. 

I  beseech  your  Highness  to  read  this  short  diplo- 
matic composition  in  the  sense  in  which  I  have  drawn 
it  up,  and  which  is  known  to  your  Majesty. 

Metternich. 
The  enclosed  herewith  returned. 

Francis. 

Troppau,  December  2,  1820. 

Metternich  to  the  Emperor  Alexander^  Troppau^ 
December  15,  1820. 

487.  Sire,  I  have  the  honour  to  send  to  your 
Imperial  Majesty  the  enclosed  statement.  I  received 
your  Majesty's  commands,  and  have  fulfilled  them  with 
an  ardour  which  gives  full  liberty  to  my  thoughts. 
Your  Imperial  Majesty  will  find  it  complete  on  all  the 
questions  most  worthy  of  the  meditations  of  every 
pubhc  man,  of  every  man  entrusted  with  grave  interests 
— ^in  short,  of  every  man  sufficiently  enlightened  to  feel 
that  to  a  world  of  folly  he  should  oppose  another  full  of 


454  CONGRESS  AT  TROPPAU. 

wisdom,  reason,  justice,  and  reformation.  I  should 
have  despised  myself,  Sire,  long  ago,  if  I  did  not  say 
what  I  ♦think.  What  in  a  private  individual  might 
appear  a  merit  is  simply  a  duty  to  a  man  in  my 
position. 

Wliat  is  contained  in  this  statement  would  excite  a 
disdainful  smile  from  the  superficial  persons  who,  full 
of  complacency  at  their  own  imperfect  knowledge,  are 
impudent  criticisers  of  the  first  interests  of  Society — that 
crowd  of  bawlers  with  crude  ideas,  who  are  the  victims 
of  their  own  errors,  and  false  prophets,  whenever  they 
allow  themselves  to  predict  anything  but  groundless 
errors.  This  same  smile  would  appear  on  the  lips  of  a 
better  class  of  men — those  men  who  think  that  the  most 
useless  of  all  enterprises  is  to  say  what  is  self-evident. 
My  conviction,  Sire,  is  that  it  is  always  the  duty  of  men 
who  wish  to  do  good  to  speak,  for  at  all  times,  and 
above  all  at  times  disturbed  by  passion,  those  men  who 
wish  to  do  evil,  the  vain  and  the  foolish,  will  speak.  It 
is  therefore  necessary  not  to  abandon  the  moral  atmo- 
sphere to  them  altogether. 

Deign,  Sire,  wliile  receiving  this  paper,  dictated  by 
my  conscience,  to  accept  the  homage  of  my  profound 
respect. 

Confession  of  Faith. 

Metternich's  Secret  Memorandum  to  the  Emperor 

Alexander. 

(Supplement  to  No.  487.) 

488.  '  LEurope,'  a  celebrated  writer  has  recently 
said,  'fait  aujourd'hui  pitie  a  Vhomme  d' esprit  et  horreur 
a  Vhomme  vertueux.' 

It  would  be  difficult  to  comprise  in  a  few  words  a 


metternich's  political  faith.  455 

more  exact  picture  of  the  situation  at  the  time  we  are 
writing  these  hnes  ! 

Kings  have  to  calculate  the  chances  of  their  very 
existence  in  the  immediate  future  ;  passions  are  let 
loose,  and  league  together  to  overthrow  everything 
which  society  respects  as  the  basis  of  its  existence  ; 
religion,  public  morality,  laws,  customs,  rights,  and 
duties,  all  are  attacked,  confounded,  overthrown,  or 
called  in  question.  The  great  mass  of  the  people  are 
tranquil  spectators  of  these  attacks  and  revolutions,  and 
of  the  absolute  want  of  all  means  of  defence.  A  few 
are  carried  off  by  the  torrent,  but  the  wishes  of  the 
immense  majority  are  to  maintain  a  repose  which  exists 
no  longer,  and  of  which  even  the  first  elements  seem  to 
be  lost. 

"What  is  the  cause  of  all  these  evils  ?  By  what 
methods  has  this  evil  estabhshed  itself,  and  how  is  it 
that  it  penetrates  into  every  vein  of  the  social  body  ? 

Do  remedies  still  exist  to  arrest  the  progress  of  this 
evil,  and  what  are  they  ? 

These  are  doubtless  questions  worthy  of  the  sohci- 
tude  of  every  good  man  who  is  a  true  friend  to  order 
and  public  peace — two  elements  inseparable  in  prin- 
ciple, and  which  are  at  once  the  first  needs  and  the 
first  blessings  of  humanity. 

Has  there  never  been  offered  to  the  world  an  insti- 
tution really  worthy  of  the  name  ?  Has  truth  been 
always  confounded  with  error  ever  since  society  has 
believed  itself  able  to  distinguish  one  from  the  other  ? 
Have  the  experiences  bought  at  the  price  of  so  many 
sacrifices,  and  repeated  at  intervals,  and  in  so  many 
different  places,  been  all  in  error  ?  Will  a  flood  of  light 
be  shed  upon  society  at  one  stroke  ?  Will  knowledge 
come  by  inspiration  ?     If  one   could   beheve  in    such 


456  CONGRESS   AT   TROPPAU. 

phenomena  it  would  not  be  the  less  necessary,  first  of  all, 
to  assure  oneself  of  their  reality.  Of  all  things,  nothing 
is  so  fatal  as  error  ;  and  it  is  neither  our  wish  nor  our 
intention  ever  to  give  ourselves  up  to  it.  Let  us 
examine  the  matter ! 


The  Source  of  the  Evil. 

Man's  nature  is  immutable.  The  first  needs  of 
society  are  and  remain  the  same,  and  the  differences 
which  they  seem  to  offer  find  their  explanation  in  the 
diversity  of  influences,  acting  on  the  different  races 
by  natural  causes,  such  as  the  diversity  of  climate, 
barrenness  or  richness  of  soil,  insular  or  continental 
position,  &c.  &c.  These  local  differences  no  doubt 
produce  effects  which  extend  far  beyond  purely  physical 
necessities  ;  they  create  and  determine  particular  needs 
in  a  more  elevated  sphere ;  finally,  they  determine  the 
laws,  and  exercise  an  influence  even  on  religions. 

It  is,  on  the  other  hand,  with  institutions  as  with 
everything  else.  Vague  in  their  origin,  they  pass 
through  periods  of  development  and  perfection,  to 
arrive  in  time  at  their  decadence  ;  and,  conforming  to  the 
laws  of  man's  nature,  they  have,  like  him,  their  infancy, 
their  youth,  their  age  of  strength  and  reason,  and  their 
age  of  decay. 

Two  elements  alone  remain  in  all  their  strength,  and 
never  cease  to  exercise  their  indestructible  influence 
with  equal  power.  These  are  the  precepts  of  morality, 
religious  as  well  as  social,  and  the  necessities  created  by 
locality.  From  the  time  tliat  men  attempt  to  swerve 
from  these  bases,  to  become  rebels  against  these 
sovereign  arbiters  of  their  destinies,  society  suffers  from 
a  malaise  which   sooner  or  later  will  lead  to  a  state  of 


metternich's  political  faith.  457 

convulsion.  The  history  of  every  country,  in  relating 
the  consequences  of  such  errors,  contains  many  pages 
stained  with  blood  ;  but  we  dare  to  say,  without  fear  of 
contradiction,  one  seeks  in  vain  for  an  epoch  when  an 
evil  of  this  nature  has  extended  its  ravages  over  such  a 
vast  area  as  it  has  done  at  the  present  time.  The 
causes  are  natural. 

History  embraces  but  a  very  limited  space  of  time. 
It  did  not  begin  to  deserve  the  name  of  history  until 
long  after  the  fall  of  great  empires.  There,  where  it 
seems  to  conduct  us  to  the  cradle  of  civihsation,  it 
really  conducts  us  to  ruins.  We  see  republics  arise 
and  prosper,  struggle,  and  then  submit  to  the  rule  of 
one  fortunate  soldier.  We  see  one  of  these  repubhcs 
pass  through  all  the  phases  common  to  society,  and 
end  in  an  almost  universal  monarchy — that  is  to  say, 
subjugating  the  scattered  portions  of  the  then  civilised 
world.  We  see  this  monarchy  suffer  the  fate  of  all 
political  bodies :  we  see  its  first  springs  become  en- 
feebled, and  finally  decay. 

Centuries  of  darkness  followed  the  irruption  of  the 
barbarians.  The  world,  however,  could  not  return  to 
barbarism.  The  Christian  religion  had  appeared  ;  im- 
perishable in  its  essence,  its  very  existence  was  sufficient 
to  disperse  the  darkness  and  estabhsh  civilisation  on 
new  foundations,  applicable  to  all  times  and  all  places, 
satisfying  all  needs,  and  establishing  the  most  important 
of  all  on  the  basis  of  a  pure  and  eternal  law  !  To  the 
formation  of  new  Christian  States  succeeded  the  Cru- 
sades, a  curious  mixture  of  good  and  evil. 

A  decisive  influence  was  shortly  exercised  on  the 
progress  of  civilisation  by  three  discoveries — the  inven- 
tion of  printing,  that  of  gunpowder,  and  the  discovery 
of  the  New  World.     Still  later  came  the  Eeformation — 


458  CONGRESS  AT  thoppau. 

another  event  wliich  had  incalculable  effects,  on  account 
of  its  influence  on  the  moral  world.  From  that  time 
the  face  of  the  world  was  changed. 

The  facilitation  of  the  communication  of  thoughts  by 
printing ;  the  total  change  in  the  means  of  attack  and 
defence  brought  about  by  the  invention  of  gunpowder  ; 
the  difference  suddenly  produced  in  the  value  of  pro- 
perty by  the  quantity  of  metals  which  the  discovery  of 
America  put  in  circulation ;  the  spirit  of  adventure 
provoked  by  the  chances  of  fortune  opened  in  a  new 
hemisphere  ;  the  modifications  in  the  relations  of  society 
caused  by  so  many  and  such  important  changes,  all 
became  more  developed,  and  were  in  some  sort  crowned 
by  the  revolution  which  the  Eeformation  worked  in 
the  moral  world. 

The  progress  of  the  human  mind  has  been  extremely 
rapid  in  the  course  of  the  last  three  centuries.  This 
progress  having  been  accelerated  more  rapidly  than  the 
growth  of  wisdom  (the  only  counterpoise  to  passions 
and  to  error) ;  a  revolution  prepared  by  the  false  sys- 
tems, the  fatal  errors  into  which  many  of  the  most 
illustrious  sovereigns  of  the  last  half  of  the  eighteenth 
century  fell,  has  at  last  broken  out  in  a  country  ad- 
vanced in  knowledge,  and  enervated  by  pleasure,  in  a 
country  inhabited  by  a  people  whom  one  can  only 
regard  as  frivolous,  from  the  facihty  with  which  they 
comprehend  and  the  difficulty  they  experience  in  judg- 
ing calmly. 

Having  now  thrown  a  rapid  glance  over  the  first 
causes  of  the  present  state  of  society,  it  is  necessary  to 
point  out  in  a  more  particular  manner  the  evil  which 
threatens  to  deprive  it,  at  one  blow,  of  the  real  bless- 
ings, the  fruits  of  genuine  civihsation,  and  to  disturb 
it  in  the  midst  of  its  enjoyments.     This  evil  may  be 


METTERNICIl'S   POLITICAL   FAITH.  459 

described  in  one  word — presumption  ;  the  natural  effect 
of  the  rapid  progression  of  the  human  mind  towards 
the  perfecting  of  so  many  things.  This  it  is  which  at 
the  present  day  leads  so  many  individuals  astray,  for 
it  has  become  an  almost  universal  sentiment. 

Religion,  morality,  legislation,  economy,  politics, 
administration,  all  have  become  common  and  accessible 
to  everyone.  Knowledge  seems  to  come  by  inspira- 
tion ;  experience  has  no  value  for  the  presumptuous 
man  ;  faith  is  nothing  to  him  ;  he  substitutes  for  it  a 
pretended  individual  conviction,  and  to  arrive  at  this 
conviction  dispenses  with  all  inquiry  and  with  all 
study ;  for  these  means  appear  too  trivial  to  a  mind 
which  beheves  itself  strong  enough  to  embrace  at  one 
glance  all  questions  and  all  facts.  Laws  have  no  value 
for  him,  because  he  has  not  contributed  to  make  them, 
and  it  would  be  beneath  a  man  of  his  parts  to  recognise 
the  limits  traced  by  rude  and  ignorant  generations. 
Power  resides  in  himself;  why  should  he  submit  him- 
self to  that  which  was  only  useful  for  the  man  deprived 
of  light  and  knowledge  ?  That  which,  according  to  him, 
was  required  in  an  age  of  weakness  cannot  be  suitable 
in  an  ao;e  of  reason  and  vij^our.  amountinir  to  universal 
perfection,  which  the  German  innovators  designate  by 
the  idea,  absurd  in  itself,  of  the  Emancipation  of  the 
Eeople  !  Morality  itself  he  does  not  attack  openly,  for 
without  it  he  could  not  be  sure  for  a  single  instant  of 
his  own  existence ;  but  he  interprets  its  essence  after 
his  own  fashion,  and  allows  every  other  person  to  do  so 
hkewise,  provided  that  other  person  neither  kills  nor 
robs  him. 

In  thus  tracing  the  character  of  the  presumptuous 
man,  we  believe  we  have  traced  that  of  the  society  of 
the  day,  composed  of  hke  elements,  if  the  denomination 


460  CONGRESS  AT  TROPPAU. 

of  society  is  applicable  to  an  order  of  things  which  only 
tends  in  principle  towards  individualising  all  the  ele- 
ments of  which  society  is  composed.  Presumption 
makes  every  man  the  ^uide  of  his  own  belief,  the 
arbiter  of  laws  according  to  which  he  is  pleased  to 
govern  himself,  or  to  allow  some  one  else  to  govern  him 
and  his  neighbours  ;  it  makes  him,  in  short,  the  sole 
judge  of  his  own  faith,  his  own  actions,  and  the  prin- 
ciples according  to  which  he  guides  them. 

Is  it  necessary  to  give  a  proof  of  this  last  fact  ?  We 
think  we  have  furnished  it  in  remarking  that  one  of  the 
sentiments  most  natural  to  man,  that  of  nationality,  is 
erased  from  the  Liberal  catechism,  and  that  where  the 
word  is  still  employed,  it  is  used  by  the  heads  of  the 
party  as  a  pretext  to  enchain  Governments,  or  as  a  lever 
to  bring  about  destruction.  The  real  aim  of  the  ideal- 
ists of  the  party  is  religious  and  political  fusion,  and 
this  being  analysed  is  nothing  else  but  creating  in 
favour  of  each  individual  an  existence  entirely  inde- 
pendent of  all  authority,  or  of  any  other  will  than  his 
own,  an  idea  absurd  and  contrary  to  the  nature  of  man, 
and  incompatible  with  the  needs  of  human  society. 

The  Course  which  the  Evil  has  Followed  and 
still  Follows. 

The  causes  of  the  deplorable  intensity  with  which 
this  evil  weighs  on  society  appear  to  us  to  be  of  two 
kinds.  The  first  are  so  connected  with  the  nature  of 
things  that  no  human  foresight  could  have  prevented 
them.  The  second  should  be  subdivided  into  two 
classes,  however  similar  they  may  appear  in  their 
effects. 

Of  these  causes,  the  first  are  negative,  the  others 


metternich's  political  faith.  461 

positive.     We  will  place  among  the  first  the  feebleness 
and  the  inertia  of  Governments. 

It  is  sufficient  to  cast  a  glance  on  the  course  which 
the  Governments  followed  during  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, to  be  convinced  that  not  one  among  them  was 
iiinorant  of  the  evil  or  of  the  crisis  towards  which  the 
social  body  was  tending.  There  were,  however,  some 
men,  unhappily  endowed  with  great  talents,  who  felt 
their  own  strength,  and  were  not  slow  to  appraise 
the  progressive  course  of  their  influence,  taking  into 
account  the  weakness  or  the  inertia  of  their  adversaries  ; 
and  who  had  the  art  to  prepare  and  conduct  men's 
minds  to  the  triumph  of  their  detestable  enterprise — 
an  enterprise  all  the  more  odious  as  it  was  pursued  with- 
out regard  to  results,  simply  abandoning  themselves  to 
the  one  feeling  of  hatred  of  God  and  of  Ilis  immutable 
moral  laws, 

France  had  the  misfortune  to  produce  the  greatest 
number  of  these  men.  It  is  in  her  midst  that  rehgion 
and  all  that  she  holds  sacred,  that  morality  and  au- 
thority, and  all  connected  with  them,  have  been  attacked 
with  a  steady  and  systematic  animosity,  and  it  is  there 
that  the  weapon  of  ridicule  has  been  used  with  the  most 
ease  and  success. 

Dras:  through  the  mud  the  name  of  God  and  the 
powers  instituted  by  His  divine  decrees,  and  the  revolu- 
tion will  be  prepared  !  Speak  of  a  social  contract,  and 
the  revolution  is  accomplished !  The  revolution  was 
already  completed  in  the  palaces  of  Kings,  in  the 
drawinsr-rooms  and  boudoirs  of  certain  cities,  while 
among  the  great  mass  of  the  people  it  was  still  only  in 
a  state  of  preparation. 

It  would  be  difficult  not  to  pause  here  to  consider 
the  influence  which  the  example  of  England  had  for  a 


462  CONGRESS   AT  TROPPAU. 

lons^  time  exercised  on  France.  Enj^land  is  herself 
placed  in  such  a  peculiar  situation  that  we  believe  we 
may  safely  say  that  not  one  of  the  forms  possible  to 
that  State,  not  one  of  its  customs  or  institutions,  would 
suit  any  Continental  State,  and  that  where  we  might 
wish  to  take  them  for  models,  we  should  only  obtain 
inconvenience  and  danger,  witliout  securing  a  single  one 
of  the  advantages  which  accompany  them. 

According  to  the  bent  of  minds  in  France,  at  the 
time  of  the  convocation  of  the  notables,  and  in 
consequence  of  the  direction  whicli  public  opinion  had 
received  for  more  than  fifty  years — a  direction  which, 
latterly,  had  been  strengthened  and  in  some  sort  adapted 
to  France  by  the  imprudent  help  which  her  Govern- 
ment had  given  to  the  American  revolution — all  reform 
in  France  touching  the  very  foundations  of  the  mo- 
narchy was  soon  transformed  into  a  revolution.  What 
might  have  been  foreseen,  and  what  had  been  foretold 
by  everybody,  the  Government  alone  excepted,  was 
realised  but  too  soon.  The  French  Eevolution  broke 
out,  and  has  gone  through  a  complete  revolutionary 
cycle  in  a  very  short  period,  which  could  only  have 
appeared  long  to  its  victims  and  to  its  contempo- 
raries. 

The  scenes  of  horror  which  accompanied  the  first 
phases  of  the  French  Revolution  prevented  the  rapid 
propagation  of  its  subversive  principles  beyond  tlie 
fi^ontiers  of  France,  and  the  wars  of  conquest  which 
succeeded  them  gave  to  the  public  mind  a  direction 
little  favourable  to  revolutionary  principles.  Thus  the 
Jacobin  propaganda  failed  entirely  to  realise  criminal 
hopes. 

Nevertheless  the  revolutionary  seed  had  penetrated 
into  every  country  and  spread  more  or  less.     It  was 


metternich's  political  faith.  463 

greatly  developed  under  the  regime  of  the  military- 
despotism  of  Bonaparte.  His  conquests  displaced  a 
number  of  laws,  institutions,  and  customs ;  broke 
through  bonds  sacred  among  all  nations,  strong  enough 
to  resist  time  itself ;  which  is  more  than  can  be  said  of 
certain  benefits  conferred  by  these  innovators.  From 
these  perturbations  it  followed  that  the  revolutionary 
spirit  could  in  Germany,  Italy,  and  later  on  in  Spain, 
easily  hide  itself  under  the  veil  of  patriotism. 

Prussia  committed  a  grave  fault  in  calling  to  her 
aid  such  dangerous  weapons  as  secret  associations 
always  will  be  :  a  fault  which  could  not  be  justified 
even  by  the  deplorable  situation  in  which  that  Power 
then  found  itself.  This  it  was  that  first  gave  a  strong 
impulse  to  the  revolutionary  spirit  in  her  States,  and 
this  spirit  made  rapid  progress,  supported  as  it  was  in 
the  rest  of  Germany  by  the  system  of  foreign  despotism 
which  since  1806  has  been  there  developed.  Many 
Princes  of  the  Rhenish  Confederation  were  secretly 
auxiliaries  and  accomplices  of  this  system,  to  which 
they  sacrificed  the  institutions  which  in  their  country 
from  time  immemorial  had  served  as  a  protection  against 
despotism  and  democracy. 

The  war  of  the  Allies,  by  putting  bounds  to  the  pre- 
dominance of  France,  was  vigorously  supported  in  Ger- 
many by  the  same  men  whose  hatred  of  France  was  in 
reality  nothing  but  hatred  of  the  military  despotism  of 
Bonaparte,  and  also  of  the  legitimate  power  of  their 
own  masters.  With  wisdom  in  the  Governments  and 
firmness  in  principles,  the  end  of  the  war  in  1814 
might  nevertheless  have  insured  to  the  world  the  most 
peaceful  and  happy  future.  Great  experiences  had 
been  gained  and  great  lessons,  which  might  have  been 
usefully  applied.     But  fate  had  decided  otherwise. 


464  CONGRESS  AT  TROPPAU. 

The  return  of  the  usurper  to  France,  and  the  com- 
pletely false  steps  taken  by  the  French  Government  from 
1815  to  1820,  accumulated  a  mass  of  new  dangers  and 
great  calamities  for  the  whole  civilised  world.  It  is  to 
the  first  of  these  misfortunes  that  is  partly  due  the  cri- 
tical state  in  which  France  and  the  whole  social  body  is 
placed.  Bonaparte  destroyed  in  a  hundred  days  the 
work  of  the  fourteen  years  during  which  he  had  ex- 
ercised his  authority.  He  set  free  the  revolution  which 
he  came  to  France  to  subdue ;  he  brought  back  men's 
minds,  not  to  the  epoch  of  the  18th  Brumaire,  but  to 
the  principles  which  the  National  Assembly  had  adopted 
in  its  deplorable  blindness. 

What  Bonaparte  had  thus  done  to  the  detriment  of 
France  and  Europe,  the  grave  errors  which  the  French 
Government  have  since  committed,  and  to  which  other 
Governments  have  yielded — all  these  unhappy  influences 
weigh  heavily  on  the  world  of  to-day ;  they  threaten 
with  total  ruin  the  work  of  restoration,  the  fruit  of  so 
many  glorious  efforts,  and  of  a  harmony  between  the 
greatest  monarchs  unparalleled  in  the  records  of  his- 
tory, and  they  give  rise  to  fears  of  indescribable  calam- 
ities to  society. 

In  this  memoir  we  have  not  yet  touched  on  one  of 
the  most  active  and  at  the  same  time  most  dangerous 
instruments  used  by  the  revolutionists  of  all  countries, 
with  a  success  which  is  no  longer  doubtful.  I  refer  to 
the  secret  societies,  a  real  power,  all  the  more  dangerous 
as  it  works  in  the  dark,  undermining  all  parts  of  the 
social  body,  and  depositing  everywhere  the  seeds  of  a 
moral  gangrene  which  is  not  slow  to  develop  and  in- 
crease. This  plague  is  one  of  the  worst  which  those 
Governments  who  are  lovers  of  peace  and  of  their 
people  have  to  watch  and  fight  against. 


METTERNICH'S   POLITICAL  FAITH.  465 


Do  Remedies  for  this  Evil  exist,  and  What  are  They? 

We  look  upon  it  as  a  fundamental  truth,  that  for 
every  disease  there  is  a  remedy,  and  that  the  knowledge 
of  the  real  nature  of  the  one  should  lead  to  the  dis- 
covery of  the  other.  Few  men,  however,  stop  tho- 
roughly to  examine  a  disease  which  they  intend  to- 
combat.  There  are  hardly  any  who  are  not  subject  to 
the  influence  of  passion,  or  held  under  the  yoke  of 
prejudice  ;  there  are  a  great  many  who  err  in  a  way 
more  perilous  still,  on  account  of  its  flattering  and  often 
brilliant  appearance :  we  speak  of  V esprit  de  systeme ; 
that  spirit  always  false,  but  indefatigable,  audacious 
and  irrepressible,  is  satisftictory  to  men  imbued  with 
it  (for  they  live  in  and  govern  a  world  created  by 
themselves),  but  it  is  so  much  the  more  dangerous  for 
the  inhabitants  of  the  real  Avorld,  so  different  from  that 
cieated  by  l' esprit  de  systeme. 

There  is  another  class  of  men  who,  judging  of  a 
disease  by  its  outward  appearance,  confound  the  acces- 
sory manifestations  with  the  root  of  the  disease,  and,, 
instead  of  directing  their  efforts  to  the  source  of  the 
evil,  content  themselves  with  subduing  some  passing 
symptoms. 

It  is  our  duty  to  try  and  avoid  both  of  these  dan- 
gers. 

The  evil  exists  and  it  is  enormous.  We  do  not 
think  we  can  better  define  it  and  its  cause  at  all  times 
and  in  all  places  than  we  have  already  done  by  the 
word  '  presumption,'  tliat  inseparable  companion  of  the 
half-educated,  that  spring  of  an  unmeasured  ambition,, 
and  yet  easy  to  satisfy  in  times  of  trouble  and  confusion. 

It  is  principally  the  middle  classes  of  society  which. 
VOL.  III.  H  II 


466  CONGRESS  AT  TROPPAU. 

this  moral  gangrene  has  affected,  and  it  is  only  among 
them  that  the  real  heads  of  the  party  are  found. 

For  the  great  mass  of  the  people  it  has  no  attrac- 
tion and  can  have  none.  The  labours  to  which  this 
class — the  real  people — are  obliged  to  devote  them- 
selves, are  too  continuous  and  too  positive  to  allow  them, 
to  throw  themselves  into  vague  abstractions  and  am- 
bitions. The  people  know  what  is  the  happiest  thing 
for  tliem  :  namely,  to  be  able  to  count  on  the  morrow, 
for  it  is  the  morrow  which  will  repay  them  for  the 
cares  and  sorrows  of  to-day.  The  laws  which  afford  a 
just  protection  to  individuals,  to  families,  and  to  pro- 
perty, are  quite  simple  in  their  essence.  The  people 
dread  any  movement  which  injures  industry  and  brings 
new  burdens  in  its  train. 

Men  in  the  higher  classes  of  society  who  join  the 
revolution  are  either  falsely  ambitious  men  or,  in  the 
widest  acceptation  of  the  word,  lost  spirits.  Their 
career,  moreover,  is  generally  short !  They  are  the  first 
victims  of  political  reforms,  and  the  'part  played  by 
the  small  number  among  them  who  survive  is  mostly 
that  of  courtiers  despised  by  upstarts,  their  inferiors, 
promoted  to  the  first  dignities  of  the  State ;  and  of  this 
France,  Germany,  Italy,  and  Spain  furnish  a  number  of 
living  examples. 

We  do  not  believe  that  fresh  disorders  with  a 
directly  revolutionary  end — not  even  revolutions  in  the 
palace  and  the  highest  places  in  the  Government — are 
to  be  feared  at  present  in  France,  because  of  the  de- 
cided aversion  of  the  people  to  anything  which  might 
disturb  the  peace  they  are  now  enjoying  after  so  many 
troubles  and  disasters. 

In  Germany,  as  in  Spain  and  Italy,  the  people  ask 
only  for  peace  and  quiet. 


METTERNICH'S   POLITICAL   FAITH.  467 

In  all  four  countries  the  agitated  classes  are  prin- 
cipally composed  of  wealthy  men — real  cosmopolitans, 
securing  their  personal  advantage  at  the  expense  of  any 
order  of  things  whatever — paid  State  officials,  men  of 
letters,  lawyers,  and  the  individuals  charged  with  the 
pubhc  education. 

To  these  classes  may  be  added  that  of  the  falsely 
ambitious,  whose  number  is  never  considerable  among 
the  lower  orders,  but  is  larger  in  the  higher  ranks  of 
society. 

There  is  besides  scarcely  any  epoch  which  does  not 
offer  a  rallying  cry  to  some  particular  faction.  This 
cry,  since  1815,  has  been  Constitution.  But  do  not  let 
us  deceive  ourselves  :  this  word,  susceptible  of  great 
latitude  of  interpretation,  would  be  but  imperfectly 
understood  if  we  supposed  that  the  factions  attached 
quite  the  same  meaning  to  it  under  the  different 
regimes.  Such  is  certainly  not  the  case.  In  pure 
monarchies  it  is  qualified  by  the  name  of  '  national  re- 
presentation.' In  countries  which  have  lately  been 
brought  under  the  representative  regime  it  is  called 
'  development,'  and  promises  charters  and  fundamental 
laws.  In  the  only  State  which  possesses  an  ancient 
national  representation  it  takes  'reform'  as  its  object. 
Everywhere  it  means  change  and  trouble. 

In  pure  monarchies  it  may  be  paraphrased  thus : — 
'  The  level  of  equality  shall  pass  over  your  heads ;  your 
fortunes  shall  pass  into  other  hands  ;  your  ambitions, 
which  have  been  satisfied  for  centuries,  shall  now  give 
place  to  our  ambitions,  which  have  been  hitherto 
repressed.' 

In  the  States  under  a  new  regime  they  say  : — 'The 
ambitions  satisfied  yesterday  must  give  place  to  those  of 
the  morrow,  and  this  is  the  morrow  for  us.' 

H  H  2 


468  CONGRESS  AT  TROPPAU. 

Lastly,  in  England,  the  only  place  in  tlie  third  class, 
the  rallying  cry — that  of  Eeform — combines  the  two 
meanings. 

Europe  thus  presents  itself  to  the  impartial  observer 
under  an  aspect  at  the  same  time  deplorable  and 
peculiar.  We  find  everywhere  the  people  praying  for 
the  maintenance  of  peace  and  tranquillity,  faithful  to 
God  and  their  Princes,  remaining  proof  against  the 
efforts  and  seductions  of  the  factious  who  call  themselves 
friends  of  the  people  and  wish  to  lead  them  to  an 
agitation  which  the  people  themselves  do  not  desire ! 

The  Governments,  having  lost  their  balance,  are 
frightened,  intimidated,  and  thrown  into  confusion  by 
the  cries  of  the  intermediary  class  of  society,  which, 
placed  between  the  Kings  and  their  subjects,  breaks 
the  sceptre  of  the  monarch,  and  usurps  the  cry  of 
the  people — that  class  so  often  disowned  by  the  people, 
and  nevertheless  too  much  listened  to,  caressed  and 
feared  by  those  who  could  with  one  word  reduce  it 
again  to  nothingness. 

We  see  this  intermediary  class  abandon  itself  with  a 
blind  fury  and  animosity  wliich  proves  much  more  its 
own  fears  than  any  confidence  in  the  success  of  its 
enterprises,  to  all  the  means  which  seem  proper  to 
assuage  its  thirst  for  power,  applying  itself  to  the  task 
of  persuading  Kings  that  their  rights  are  confined  to 
sitting  upon  a  throne,  while  those  of  the  people  are  to 
govern,  and  to  attack  all  that  centuries  have  bequeathed 
as  holy  and  worthy  of  man's  respect — denying,  in  fact, 
the  value  of  the  past,  and  declaring  themselves  the 
masters  of  the  future.  We  see  this  class  take  all  sorts 
of  disguises,  uniting  and  subdividing  as  occasion  offers, 
helping  «ach  other  in  the  hour  of  danger,  and  the  next 
day  depriving  each   other  of  all  their  conquests.      It 


METTERNICEI'S   POLITICAL   FAITH.  469 

takes  possession  of  the  press,  and  employs  it  to  pro- 
mote impiety,  disobedience  to  the  laws  of  religion  and 
the  State,  and  goes  so  far  as  to  preach  murder  as  a 
duty  for  those  who  desire  what  is  good. 

One  of  its  leaders  in  Germany  defined  public  opinion 
as  '  the  will  of  the  strong  man  in  the  spirit  of  the 
party ' — a  maxim  too  often  put  in  practice,  and  too 
seldom  understood  by  those  whose  right  and  duty  it  is 
to  save  society  from  its  own  errors,  its  own  weaknesses, 
and  the  crimes  which  the  factious  commit  while  pre- 
tending to  act  in  its  interests. 

The  evil  is  plain  ;  the  means  used  by  the  faction 
which  causes  these  disorders  are  so  blameable  in  prin- 
ciple, so  criminal  in  their  application,  and  expose  the 
faction  itself  to  so  many  dangers,  that  what  men  of 
narrow  views  (whose  head  and  heart  are  broken  by 
circumstances  strons^er  than  their  calculations  or  their 
courage)  regard  as  the  end  of  society  may  become  the 
first  step  towards  a  better  order  of  things.  These  weak 
men  would  be  right  unless  men  stronger  than  they  are 
come  forward  to  close  their  ranks  and  determine  the 
victory 

We  are  convinced  that  society  can  no  longer  be 
saved  without  strong  and  vigorous  resolutions  on  the 
part  of  the  Governments  still  free  in  their  opinions  and 
actions. 

We  are  also  convinced  that  this  may  yet  be,  if  tlie 
Governments  face  the  truth,  if  they  free  themselves 
from  all  illusion,  if  they  join  their  ranks  and  take  their 
stand  on  a  line  of  correct,  unambiguous,  and  frankly 
announced  principles. 

By  this  course  the  monarchs  will  fulfil  the  duties 
imposed  upon  them  by  Him  who,  by  entrusting  them 
with  power,  has  charged  them  to  watch  over  the  main- 


470  CONGEESS  AT  T'ROPPAU. 

tenance  of  justice,  and  the  rights  of  all,  to  avoid  the 
paths  of  error,  and  tread  firmly  in  the  way  of  truth. 
Placed  beyond  the  passions  which  agitate  society,  it 
is  in  days  of  trial  chiefly  that  they  are  called  upon  to 
despoil  realities  of  their  false  appearances,  and  to  show 
themselves  as  they  are,  fathers  invested  with  the  au- 
thority belonging  by  right  to  the  heads  of  families,  to 
prove  that,  in  days  of  mourning,  they  know  how  to  be 
just,  wise,  and  therefore  strong,  and  that  they  will  not 
abandon  the  people  whom  they  ought  to  govern  to  be 
the  sport  of  factions,  to  error  and  its  consequences, 
which  must  involve  the  loss  of  society.  The  moment 
in  which  we  are  putting  our  thoughts  on  paper  is  one 
of  these  critical  moments.  The  crisis  is  great ;  it  will  be 
decisive  according  to  the  part  we  take  or  do  not  take. 

There  is  a  rule  of  conduct  common  to  individuals 
and  to  States,  established  by  the  experience  of  centuries 
as  by  that  of  everyday  life.  This  rule  declares  '  that 
one  must  not  dream  of  reformation  while  agitated  by 
passion  ;  wisdom  directs  that  at  such  moments  we  should 
limit  ourselves  to  maintaining.' 

Let  the  monarchs  vigorously  adopt  this  principle  ; 
let  all  their  resolutions  bear  the  impression  of  it.  Let 
their  actions,  their  measures,  and  even  their  words 
announce  and  prove  to  the  world  this  determination — 
they  will  find  allies  everywhere.  The  Governments,  in 
estabhshing  the  principle  of  stability,  will  in  no  wise 
exclude  the  development  of  what  is  good,  for  stability 
is  not  immobility.  But  it  is  for  those  who  are  bur- 
dened with  the  heavy  task  of  government  to  augment 
the  well-being  of  their  people  !  It  is  for  Governments 
to  regulate  it  according  to  necessity  and  to  suit  the 
times.  It  is  not  by  concessions,  which  the  factious 
strive  to  force  from  legitimate  power,  and  which  they 


metternich's  political  faith.  471 

liave  neither  the  right  to  chiim  nor  the  faculty  of 
keeping  within  just  bounds,  that  wise  reforms  can  be 
carried  out.  That  all  the  good  possible  should  be 
done  is  our  most  ardent  wish  ;  but  that  which  is  not 
good  must  never  be  confounded  with  that  which  is,  and 
even  real  good  should  be  done  only  by  those  who 
unite  to  the  right  of  authority  the  means  of  enforcing 
it.  Such  should  be  also  the  sincere  wish  of  the  people, 
who  know  by  sad  experience  the  value  of  certain 
phrases  and  the  nature  of  certain  caresses. 

Eespect  for  all  that  is  ;  liberty  for  every  Government 
to  watch  over  the  well-being  of  its  own  people  ;  a  league 
between  all  Governments  against  factions  in  all  States  ; 
contempt  for  the  meaningless  words  which  have  become 
the  rallying  cry  of  the  factious  ;  respect  for  the  pro- 
gressive development  of  institutions  in  lawful  ways ; 
refusal  on  the  part  of  every  monarch  to  aid  or  succour 
partisans  under  any  mask  whatever — such  are  happily 
the  ideas  of  the  great  monarch s  :  the  world  will  be 
saved  if  they  bring  them  into  action — it  is  lost  if  they 
do  not. 

Union  between  the  monarchs  is  the  basis  of  the 
policy  which  must  now  be  followed  to  save  society  from 
total  ruin. 

What  is  the  particular  object  tow^ards  which  tins 
pohcy  should  be  directed?  The  more  important  this 
question  is,  the  more  necessary  it  is  to  solve  it.  A 
principle  is  something,  but  it  acquires  real  value  only 
in  its  application. 

The  first  sources  of  the  evil  which  is  crushing  the 
world  have  been  indicated  by  us  in  a  paper  which  has 
no  pretension  to  be  anything  more  than  a  mere  sketch. 
Its  further  causes  have   also  there  been  pointed  out  • 


472  CONGRESS  AT  TROPPAU. 

if,  with  respect  to  individuals,  it  may  be  defined  by 
the  word pre.mmption,  in  applying  it  to  society,  taken  as 
a  whole,  we  believe  we  can  best  describe  the  existing 
evil  as  the  confusion  of  ideas,  to  which  too  n^uch  gene- 
ralisation constantly  leads.  This  is  wliat  now  troubles 
society.  Everything  which  up  to  this  time  has  been 
considered  as  fixed  in  principle  is  attacked  and  over- 
thrown. 

In  religious  matters  criticism  and  inquiry  are  to 
take  the  place  of  faith,  Christian  morality  is  to  replace 
the  Law  of  Christ  as  it  is  interpreted  by  Christian 
authorities. 

In  the  Catholic  Church,  the  Jansenists  and  a  number 
of  isolated  sectarians,  who  wish  for  a  reho;ion  Avithout  a 
Church,  have  devoted  themselves  to  this  enterprise  with 
ardent  zeal :  among  the  Protestant  sects,  the  Methodists, 
sub-divided  into  almost  as  many  sects  as  there  are 
individuals  ;  then  the  enlightened  promoters  of  the 
Bible  Societies  and  the  Unitarians — the  promoters  of 
the  fusion  of  Lutherans  and  Calvinists  in  one  Evange- 
lical community — all  pursue  the  same  end. 

The  object  which  these  men  have  in  common,  to 
whatever  religion  they  may  ostensibly  belong,  is  simply 
to  overthrow  all  authority.  Put  on  moral  grounds, 
they  wish  to  enfranchise  souls  in  the  same  way  as  some 
of  the  political  revolutionists  who  were  not  actuated  by 
motives  of  personal  ambition  wished  to  enfranchise  the 
people. 

If  the  same  elements  of  destruction  wliich  are  now 
throwing  society  into  convulsion  have  existed  in  all 
ages — for  every  age  has  seen  immoral  and  ambitious 
men,  hypocrites,  men  of  heated  imaginations,  wrong 
motives,  and  wild  projects — yet  ours,  by  the  single 
fact  of  the  hberty  of  the  press,  possesses  more  than  any 


:metteenich's  political  faith.  473 

preceding  age  the  means  of  contact,  seduction,  and 
attraction  whereby  to  act  on  these  different  classes  of 
men. 

We  are  certainly  not  alone  in  questioning  if  society 
can  exist  with  the  liberty  of  the  press,  a  scourge  un- 
known to  the  world  before  the  latter  half  of  tlie  seven- 
teenth century,  and  restrained  until  the  end  of  the 
eighteenth,  with  scarcely  any  exceptions  but  England — 
a  part  of  Europe  separated  from  the  continent  by  the 
sea,  as  well  as  by  her  language  and  by  her  pecuHar 
manners. 

The  first  principle  to  be  followed  by  the  monarchs, 
united  as  they  are  by  the  coincidence  of  their  desires 
and  opinions,  should  be  that  of  maintaining  the  stability 
of  political  institutions  against  the  disorganised  excite- 
ment which  has  taken  possession  of  men's  minds  ;  the 
immutability  of  principles  against  the  madness  of  their 
interpretation  ;  and  respect  for  laws  actually  in  force 
a£!;ainst  a  desire  for  their  destruction. 

The  hostile  faction  is  divided  into  two  very  distinct 
parties.  One  is  that  of  the  Levellers  ;  the  other,  that 
of  the  Doctrinaires.  United  in  times  of  confusion,  these 
men  are  divided  in  times  of  inaction.  It  is  for  the 
Governments  to  understand -and  estimate  them  at  their 
just  value. 

In  the  class  of  Levellers  there  are  found  men  of 
strong  will  and  determination.  The  Doctrinaires  can 
count  none  such  among  their  ranks.  If  the  first  are 
more  to  be  feared  in  action,  the  second  are  more  dan- 
gerous in  that  time  of  deceitful  calm  which  precedes 
it  ;  as  with  physical  storms,  so  with  those  of  social 
order.  Given  up  to  abstract  ideas  inapplicable  to  real 
wants,  and  generally  in  contradiction  to  those  very 
wants,  men  of  this  class  unceasingly  agitate  the  people 


474  CONGRESS  AT  TROPPAU. 

by  their  imaginary  or  simulated  fears,  and  disturb  Go- 
vernments in  order  to  make  them  deviate  from  "the 
rig] it  path.  The  world  desires  to  be  governed  by  facts 
and  according  to  justice,  not  by  phrases  and  theories  ; 
the  first  need  of  society  is  to  be  maintained  by  strong 
authority  (no  authority  without  real  strength  deserves 
the  name)  and  not  to  govern  itself.  In  comparing  the 
number  of  contests  between  parties  in  mixed  Govern- 
ments, and  that  of  just  complaints  caused  by  aberra- 
tions of  power  in  a  Christian  State,  the  comparison 
would  not  be  in  favour  of  the  new  doctrines.  The  first 
and  greatest  concern  for  the  immense  majority  of  every 
nation  is  the  stability  of  the  laws,  and  their  uninter- 
rupted action — never  their  change.  Therefore  let  the 
Governments  govern,  let  them  maintain  the  groundwork 
of  their  institutions,  both  ancient  and  modern  ;  for  if  it 
is  at  all  times  dangerous  to  touch  them,  it  certainly 
would  not  now,  in  the  general  confusion,  be  wise  to 
do  so. 

Let  them  announce  this  determination  to  their  people, 
and  demonstrate  it  by  facts.  Let  them  reduce  the  Doc- 
trinaires to  silence  within  their  States,  and  show  their 
contempt  for  them  abroad.  Let  them  not  encourage 
by  their  attitude  or  action^  the  suspicion  of  being  fa- 
vourable or  indifferent  to  error :  let  them  not  allow  it 
to  be  believed  that  experience  has  lost  all  its  rights  to 
make  way  for  experiments  which  at  the  least  are  dan- 
gerous. Let  them  be  precise  and  clear  in  all  their  words, 
and  not  seek  by  concessions  to  gain  over  those  parties 
who  aim  at  the  destruction  of  all  power  but  their  own, 
whom  concessions  will  never  gain  over,  but  only  further 
embolden  in  their  pretensions  to  power. 

Let  them  in  these  troublous  times  be  more  than 
usually  cautious  in  attempting  real  amehorations,  not 


metternich's  political  faith.  475 

imperatively  claimed  by  the  needs  of  the  moment,  to 
the  end  that  good  itself  may  not  turn  against  them 
—which  is  the  case  whenever  a  Government  measure 
seems  to  be  inspired  by  fear. 

Let  them  not  confound  concessions  made  to  parties 
with  the  good  they  ought  to  do  for  their  people,  in 
modifying,  according  to  their  recognised  needs,  such 
branches  of  the  administration  as  require  it. 

Let  them  give  minute  attention  to  the  financial  state 
of  their  kingdoms,  so  that  their  people  may  enjoy,  by 
the  reduction  of  public  burdens,  the  real,  not  imaginary, 
benefits  of  a  state  of  peace. 

Let  them  be  just,  but  strong  ;  beneficent,  but  strict. 

Let  them  maintain  religious  principles  iii  all  their 
purity,  and  not  allow  the  faith  to  be  attacked  and 
morality  interpreted  according  to  the  social  contract  or 
the  visions  of  foolish  sectarians. 

Let  them  suppress  Secret  Societies,  that  gangrene  of 
society. 

In  short,  let  the  great  monarchs  strengthen  their 
union,  and  prove  to  the  world  that  if  it  exists,  it  is  bene- 
ficent, and  ensures  the  political  peace  of  Europe  :  that 
it  is  powerful  only  for  the  maintenance  of  tranquillity 
at  a  time  when  so  many  attacks  are  directed  against  it  ; 
that  the  principles  which  they  profess  are  paternal  and 
protective,  menacing  only  the  disturbers  of  public  tran- 
quillity. 

The  Governments  of  the  second  order  will  see  in 
such  a  union  the  anchor  of  their  salvation,  and  tliey 
will  be  anxious  to  connect  themselves  with  it.  The 
people  will  take  confidence  and  courage,  and  the  most 
profound  and  salutary  peace  which  the  history  of  any 
time  can  show  will  have  been  effected.  This  peace  will 
first  act  on  countries  still  in  a  good  state,  but  will  not 


476  CONGRESS  AT  TROPPAU. 

be  without  a  very  decided  influence  on  the  fate  of 
those  threatened  with  destruction,  and  even  assist  the 
restoration  of  those  which  have  already  passed  under 
the  scourge  of  revohition. 

To  every  great  State  determined  to  survive  the 
storm  tliere  still  remain  many  chances  of  salvation,  and 
a  strong  union  between  the  States  on  the  principles  we 
have  announced  will  overcome  the  storm  itself. 


477 


1821. 
THE  CONGRESS  AT  LAYBACH. 

Extracts  from  Metternich's  private  Letters  from  January  4  to 
May  21,  1821. 

489.  Arrival  in  Laybach — ^journey — lodging.  490.  Feast  of  the  Three  Kings 
— the  Iving  of  Naples.  491.  Prince  Paul  Esterhazy.  492.  Agreement 
■with  Emperor  Alexander.  493.  A  sentence  from  Capo  dTstria's  despatch. 
494.  Probable  duration  of  the  Congress.  495.  Frau  von  HittrofF.  496. 
Results — anecdotes.  497.  The  army  crosses  the  Po.  498.  A  lecture  for 
the  insurgents — reflections — evening  with  the  Emperor  Alexander.  499, 
Writing.  600.  The  Congress — Capo  dTstria's  star  declines.  501.  Direct 
news  from  Naples — Nesselrode.  502.  Hard  work.  503.  Dissolution  of 
the  Congress.  504.  The  army  takes  the  offensive — Laj'bach  empty.  505. 
Commencement  of  hostilities.  506.  The  army.  507.  Lord  Holland's 
conduct.  508.  Insurrection  in  Alessandria  and  Turin.  509.  Entrance 
into  Naples.  510.  Suppression  of  the  Piedmontese  revolution.  511. 
What  will  Lord  Holland  and  Co.  say?  512.  A  war  of  thirteen  days. 
513.  Remarkable  position.  514.  Greek  revolution.  515.  Holiday  during 
the  military  operations — results  of  the  last  nine  months.  516.  Parting 
reflections.  517.  Coronation  in  England— Prince  Victor.  518.  Pro- 
menade with  Nesselrode.  519.  Ypsilanti.  520.  Conversation  with  the 
Emperor  Alexander.  521.  An  unexpected  result.  522.  Excursion  up  a 
mountain.  523.  The  public  feeling.  524.  Italian  opera  in  Laybach. 
525.  Departure  from  Laybach. 

489.  Laybach,  January  4, 1821.  — On  December  25, 
in  the  morning,  I  left  Troppau,  and  on  the  morning 
of  the  27th  arrived  at  Vienna,  where  I  remained  till 
New  Year's  Day.  I  started  from  Vienna  on  January  1, 
in  fifteen  degrees  of  cold.  Till  the  mountain  was 
crossed  which  separates  Carniola  from  Styria  the  cold 
continually  increased  ;  but  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
mountain  I  first  felt  the  soutliern  air,  and  the  ice  on 
my  carriage  windows,  which  was  half  an  inch  thick, 


478    EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

melted  in  less  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  I  breathed 
new  life,  as  servants  often  get  a  pleasant  odour  when 
they  open  the  doors  of  a  banquet  hall.  Laybach 
is  hke  the  anteroom  to  some  comfortable  apartments. 
If  Gorz  were  not  too  small  to  accommodate  a  Con- 
gress, we  would  have  settled  ourselves  in  that  town, 
because  there  the  Alps  are  entirely  passed.  A  man 
can  only  really  live  in  a  country  where  there  is  no 
winter,  or  not  a  long  winter.  I  am  still  the  only 
person  here  ;  the  morning  will  bring  an  avalanche  of 
statesmen — an  avalanche  that  will  cause  no  joy. 

I  am  very  well  pleased  with  my  accommodation.  I 
have  a  good  room  to  write  in,  a  good  bedroom,  and  a 
suite  of  reception  rooms.  The  mistress  of  the  house  is 
as  ugly  as  the  seven  deadly  sins,  and  has  seven  children 
who  each  resemble  one  of  the  said  sins. 

Poor  Nesselrode  finds  himself  in  a  very  strange 
moral  position.  There  are  fish  which  can  only  live  in 
hard  spring  water  ;  others  which  do  better  in  ponds  or 
stacmant  water.  The  trout  belonc^s  to  the  first  class  : 
in  soft,  stagnant  water  it  becomes  flabby ;  but  if  you 
let  a  little  fresh  water  flow  in,  the  poor  fish  soon  be- 
comes lively,  and  gains  that  appearance  of  liealth  and 
strength  so  peculiar  to  the  trout  in  water,  and  its  chief 
merit. 

Now,  there  are  men  who  have  not  sufficient  strength 
of  character  to  overcome  the  difficulties  which  surround 
them ;  others,  again,  who  are  more  comfortable  in  the 
mud.  Nesselrode  by  nature  belongs  to  the  class  of 
trout,  but  unhappily  he  remains  in  the  mud.  Since  I 
have  let  a  little  fresh  water  in  upon  him  he  has  as- 
tonishingly revived.  He  has  become  lively,  and  longs 
for  the  harder  but  healthier  medium.  He  will  cer- 
tainly not  remain  so,  for  what  is  a  glass  of  pure  water 


CONGRESS   AT   LAYB4CH.  479 

in  such  a  swamp  ?  The  poor  httle  man  has  moments 
when  he  thmks  he  is  all  right  again  ;  if  he  were  a  fish 
he  would  be  carried  away  with  the  current. 

Do  you  know  an  English  novel  called  "  Anastasius"? 
In  it  there  is  a  description  of  the  Greek  character  (I 
think  in  the  fourth,  fifth,  or  sixth  chapter)  wliich  is  very 
good  and  accurate,  as  indeed  is  everything  in  this  book 
relating  to  Oriental,  and  especially  Greek,  customs.  You 
will  find  there  Capo  dTstria  word  for  word,  exactly  as 
he  is.  It  is  really  extraordinary  that  destiny  should 
have  brought  us,  who  are  of  so  opposite  a  nature,  and 
have  come  into  the  world  seven  or  eight  hundred 
miles  from  one  another,  to  meet  upon  the  same  ground. 
Nemo  propheta  in  patria,  says  the  proverb.  Whether 
Capo  d'Istria  will  ever  be  a  prophet  beyond  his  father- 
land I  doubt. 

I  should  have  liked  Eobespierre  better  than  Abbe 
de  Pradt,  and  Attila  better  than  Quiroga.  A  tyrant 
does  not  alarm  me  ;  I  should  know  how  to  avoid  his 
attacks,  or  bear  them  with  honour.  But  the  Eadical 
maniac,  the  sentimental  Boudoir-Philanthropist,  make 
me  uncomfortable.  I  like  iron  and  gold,  but  I  hate  tin 
and  copper.  This  childish  feeling  is  so  decided  in  me 
that  I  never  can  endure  plated  things 

490.  January  6. — To-day  is  the  Festival  of  the 
Three  Kings  ;  it  is  very  convenient,  too,  that  they  now 
come  together.  We  are  very  gallant  here,  and  will 
manage  it  so  that  the  old  Ferdinand  (King  of  JSTaples) 
draws  the  bean. 

For  the  second  time  the  task  devolved  on  me  of 
picking  him  up — for  he  has  the  unfortunate  habit  of 
always  throwing  himself  down.  But  many  Kings  fancy 
that  the  Throne  is  only  an  armchair,  in  wliich  one  can 
sleep  quite  comfortably.     In  the  year  1821,  however,  a 


480    EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE    LETTERS. 

seat  of  this  kind  is  inconvenient  to  sleep  in,  and  badly 
stuffed. 

My  Emperor  came  to-day.  For  some  months  I  have 
had  but  one  quiet  day,  and  that  was  yesterday.  Such 
a  day  is  a  remarkable  one  in  my  life.  Tlie  Emperor 
Alexander  comes  to-morrow,  and  the  next  day  the 
King  of  Xaples.  My  tasks  are,  unhappily,  always  of 
such  a  kind  that  it  would  be  very  pleasant  if  the 
end  of  one  was  not  the  beirinning;  of  another.  A 
hard  saying  of  the  late  Duke  of  Laval  has  the  fullest 
application  to  my  business.  He  said  to  me  once,  '  I 
never  lend  anyone  a  farthing;  why  should  I?  At  the 
very  best  my  money  will  only  be  given  back  to  me.' 
There  lies  in  tliis  axiom  a  truth  which  is  irresistible. 

491.  January   7.- — Paul   Esterhazy   was 

allotted  to  me  for  many  years.  He  will  be  my  best 
biographer,  on  account  of  his  extraordinary  memory 
Whenever  I  meet  him  I  am  oblis^ed  to  laui^h,  for  he  is 
always  overflowing  with  old  anecdotes  which  I  had 
long  forgotten.  He  knows  my  history  from  the  year 
1807  till  1815  better  than  I  do  myself.  He  does  not 
know  everything,  but  still  he  knows  much,  is  shrewd — 
very  shrewd — and  perhaps  knows  more  than  I  suspect. 
He  is  to  me  like  a  son,  and  loves  me  like  a  father. 

492.  January  10. — To-day,  if  the  earth  does  not 
break  up  or  the  heavens  fall  down,  or  the  commonest 
and  vilest  ruffians  destroy  all  good  people  with  right 
and  strong  wills,  we  have  won  the  cause.  Capo 
dlstria  twists  about  like  a  devil  in  holy  water  ;  but  he 
is  in  holy  water  and  can  do  nothing.  The  chief  cause 
of  our  activity  to-day  arises  from  my  thorough  agree- 
ment witli  the  Emperor  Alexander.  Here,  again,  the 
tea  makes  its  astonishing  power  felt. 

Is  there  anytliing  in  the  world    wliicli  can  to-day 


CAPO  d'istria's  eloquence.  481 

take  the  place  of  ink,  pens,  a  conference-table  with  its 
green  cover,  and  a  few  greater  or  smaller  bunglers  ? 

493.  January  13. — Capo  d'Istria  has  given  us  the 
benefit  of  a  new  miracle  of  his  genius.  Here  is  a 
sentence  out  of  an  official  paper  descriptive  of  the 
Neapolitan  insurrection.  Since  Isaiah  and  Cicero,  the 
first  as  a  poet,  the  other  as  an  orator,  notliing  more 
eloquent  has  ever  been  uttered  than  the  following 
words  : — '  La  sedition,  associee  aux  mysteres  impies  d'une 
secte  antisociale,  projitant  de  Vegarement  qiielte  avait 
provoque,  a  adopte  une  monstruosite  politique  destructive 
du  Gouvernment  auquel  elle  devait  Voheissance,  incapable 
de  lui  en  suhstituer  un  autre,  et  incompatible  avec  la  paix 
generale.'  Here  we  have  an  insurrection  veiled  in 
mystery — an  insurrection  utihsing  a  confusion,  in  order 
to  produce  a  monstrosity,  which  monstrosity  owed  obe- 
dience to  the  Government.  Further — and,  indeed,  this 
is  the  boldest  stroke — this  monstrosity,  or  this  sect,  or, 
if  you  like,  the  insurrection  with  its  adopted  daughter 
the  monstrosity,  is  incapable  of  forming  a  Government, 
which  Government,  which  cannot  be  made,  is  incompat- 
ible with  the  general  peace ! 

These  words  apparently  represent  the  roll  of  the 
thunder ;  at  the  proper  place  they  are  to  strike  like 
lightning.  Can  the  result  be  doubted?  What  are 
battalions  and  artillery  in  comparison  with  such  a 
phrase?  May  it  not  be  expected  that  the  Neapolitan 
volunteers  will  throw  themselves  in  the  dust,  with  ashes 
on  their  heads,  and  will  they  not  with  a  voice  of 
despair  cry  pater,  peccavi  ? 

Never  was  I  more  fortunate  than  in  having  (under 
present  circumstances)  arrived  at  a  discreet  age.  Now 
1  am  safe  in  presence  of  such  aberrations.  At  twenty 
they  would  have  been  dangerous :  at  thirty  I  might 

VOL.  III.  1 1 


482     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS, 

perhaps  have  become  a  fool  or  a  maniac,  but  now  I  am 
well  armed.  I  let  them  pass,  listen  like  a  Roman  Senator 
without  discomposing  my  countenance,  and  swear ! 
Capo  d'Istria  has  excused  himself,  and  this  is  hterally 
true,  for  the  reason  given  is  a  mere  excuse. 

494.  January  16. — We  shall  hardly  get  away 
from  here  till  the  end  of  March.  An  army  takes  thirty 
days  to  march  from  the  Po  to  Naples,  and  we  must 
await  their  entry  here.  At  any  rate,  the  present 
residence  here  is  pleasanter  than  the  former ;  it  is 
much  more  agreeable.  We  have  some  public  amuse- 
ments, as,  for  instance,  two  masked  balls  in  the  week, 
the  first  of  which  they  say  was  not  very  lively  ;  among 
five-and-forty  men  there  was  one  lady,  who  fell  asleep 
in  a  corner  of  the  room,  which  did  not  speak  much 
for  the  gallantry  of  the  gentlemen.  Moreover,  there 
are  here  some  very  pretty  women,  the  prettiest  being 
Countess  Tliurn,  who  is  two-and  twenty.  They  talk  also 
of  two  other  ladies,  one  of  whom  is  five-and-twenty, 
the  other  five-and-thirty  ;  the  first  limps,  which  you 
do  not  notice  if  she  is  sitting ;  the  other  has  stern 
manners,  but  is  of  a  very  enthusiastic  nature.  This 
lady  I  will  endeavour  to  install  as  the  poet  of  our  Con- 
gress. 

495.  January  24. — ^Frau  von  HittrofT  is  here  with 
her  two  very  pretty  daughters.  All  our  Austrians 
are  in  love  with  both.  One  is  to  marry  a  rich  young 
man  of  good  family,  who  belongs  to  our  embassy 
at  Rome ;  and  the  other  is  to  marry  our  ambassador  at 
Florence,  a  very  clever  and  agreeable  man.  He  is  two 
or  three  and  forty,  while  the  girl  is  not  yet  sixteen.  If 
he  is  successful  and  it  goes  on,  I  shall  be  very  glad,  for 
I  like  this  worthy  man  about  me,  and  he  is  a  sort  of 
right  hand  to  me.     I  am  so  much  occupied  with  military 


METTERNICH  AND   THE   BURGLAR.  483 

matters  that  I  hardly  myself  know  whether  I  do  not 
belong  to  the  mihtary  profession. 

496.  January  25. — We  are  ready  ;  the  diplomatic 
fight  is  won ;  sound  manly  sense  has  conquered.  The 
principle  is  clear  and  plainly  set  forth,  and  if  heaven 
favours  us  the  execution  will  be  quick  and  successful. 
The  evening  before  a  battle  no  general  can  say  if  he 
will  win  ;  but  he  must  count  his  troops,  reconnoitre  the 
ground,  think  of  the  retreat,  and  then  let  fly  at  the 
enemy.  Providence  only  knows  how  the  battle  will  go, 
but  since  providence  has  bestowed  on  us  the  gift  of 
foresight,  she  at  least  expects  from  us  that  her  priceless 
gifts,  reason  and  conscience,  should  be  taken  into 
council.  From  the  moment  when  I  had  the  inward 
conviction  of  having  satisfied  this  expectation  I  was 
calm  and  content.  I  am  not  accessible  to  fear  ;  I  know 
no  other  than  the  fear  lest  I  should  mistake  what  is 
good  and  right.  One  day  a  thief,  or  perhaps  a  murderer, 
got  in  at  my  window  and  stood  by  my  bed  ;  he  thought 
I  slept,  but  I  observed  him.  I  allowed  him  to  come 
nearer  without  moving,  but  loosened  my  sheets  so  that 
nothing  might  be  in  my  way.  One  jump  and  I  stood 
up,  seized  him,  threw  him  out  of  the  window,  and  lay 
down  again.  '  He  or  I '  was  my  thought.  That  is  logic 
in  business  as  with  robbers.  This  circumstance  took 
place  in  the  year  1811. 

I  was  yesterday  on  the  Eedoubt,  which  is  dreadfully 
knocked  about.  It  seems  that  this  beautiful  country 
has  not  always  beautiful  inhabitants.  I  saw  only  one 
pretty  woman's  face,  and  that  belonged  to  a  Eussian 
cook,  who  caused  much  mischief  among  the  soldiers. 
As  I  am  not  a  soldier,  I  did  not  prolong  my  stay  more 
than  a  quarter  of  an  hour. 

497.  February  6. — To-day  sixty  thousand  men  wiU 

112 


484     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

cross  the  Po.  In  less  than  thirty  days  they  will  sit  in 
the  curulian  chairs  of  the  Parthenopian  lawgiver  as  a 
proof  that  there  is  no  procrastination  with  me.  My 
enemies  must  find  me  very  inconvenient.  The  Austrian 
proclamation  is  good,  simple,  and  to  the  point.* 

To-day  I  have  the  same  feeling  as  on  August  15, 
1813,  but  the  feeling  of  having  an  army  on  one's 
shoulders  is  somewhat  oppressive. 

498.  February  7. — Every  hour  now  brings  us  news 
from  Italy  which,  taken  altogether,  shows  that  it  will 
not  come  to  a  battle.  I  confess  I  shall  be  sorry.  If  it  is 
necessary  to  give  the  insurgents  a  lesson  it  ought  to  be 
strongly  expressed.  Nothing  is  useful  which  is  merely 
done  privately ;  it  ought  to  be  done  openly. 

At  any  rate  the  outcome  of  it  will  be  a  new  ex- 

*  This  proclamation  to  the  Neapolitan  people,  which  was  written  in 
Italian  and  signed  by  the  Austrian  General  in  Command,  Baron  Frimont, 
dated  Foligno,  February  27,  1821,  may  be  translated  as  follows: — 'Neapoli- 
tans !  At  the  moment  when  by  my  orders  the  army  has  crossed  the  frontier 
of  the  kingdom,  I  feel  bound  to  make  known  freely  and  openly  to  you  the 
object  of  my  operations.  Last  July  a  deplorable  revolution  destroyed  your 
domestic  peace  and  severed  the  bonds  of  friendship  which  can  only  subsist 
between  neighbouring  States  on  the  basis  of  mutual  confidence.  Your  kin" 
has  lifted  his  voice  and  spoken  to  his  people  in  a  royal  and  paternal  mamier. 
He  has  warned  you  of  the  horrors  of  a  useless  war,  which  will  not  be  brought 
upon  you  by  others,  but  which  you  will  bring  upon  yourselves.  The  old 
and  faithful  allies  of  your  country  have  also  expressed  themselves.  They 
have,  indeed,  duties  to  their  own  people,  but  your  true  and  lasting  happi- 
ness is  also  dear  to  them,  and  that  you  will  never  find  by  forsaking  the  path 
of  duty  or  by  insurrection.  Withdraw,  therefore,  of  your  own  free  will 
from  a  miserable  afi'air  into  which  you  have  been  led  by  strangers,  and  have 
confidence  in  your  king.  Your  welfare  and  his  are  inseparably  united.  We 
are  led  by  no  hostile  views  to  cross  the  frontiers  of  Naples.  The  army  under 
my  orders  will  meet  as  friends  all  Neapolitans  who  are  faithful  and  peace- 
able subjects  of  their  king ;  it  will  be  always  and  everywhere  under  the 
strictest  discipline,  and  only  treat  as  enemies  those  who  act  as  enemies. 
Neapolitans !  Listen  to  the  voice  of  your  king  and  his  friends,  who  are 
also  yours :  consider  the  mischief  you  would  cause  by  useless  opposition  ; 
remember  that  the  fallacies  to  which  the  enemies  of  peace  and  order  strive 
to  win  you  over  never  can  be  the  source  of  lasting  prosperity.' — Ed. 


AT   LAYBACH.  485 

ample.  For  the  first  time  for  thirty  years  an  evil  will 
be  pubhcly  combated  which  has  been  represented  to 
weak  humanity  as  the  highest  good.  Our  children's 
children  will  think  us  very  foolish,  and  this  conviction 
often  weighs  upon  my  mind,  for  I  belong  to  a  class  of 
men  who  live  more  in  the  future  than  in  the  present. 
My  mind  has  an  historical  tinge  which  helps  me  over 
many  present  difficulties.  With  me  the  future  is  always 
before  my  eyes,  and  I  believe  I  am  far  less  exposed  to 
the  dancrer  of  error  with  regard  to  the  future  than  with 
regard  to  the  present. 

However,  I  do  not  carry  this  feeling  so  far  as  to  be 
dangerous  to  a  man  in  my  position.  I  do  not  overlook 
the  present ;  I  take  it  at  its  real  value,  but  the  present 
is  not  worth  much.  This  is  evident  to  me,  and  history 
has  perhaps  never  displayed  such  a  pitiable  crowd  of 
small  personages  who  only  busy  themselves  with  follies. 
Heavens !  how  we  shall  all  be  abused  when  the  day  of 
reckoning  comes — and  that  day  will  come.  Then  some 
worthy  man  who,  among  the  hundred  thousand  pam- 
phlets and  in  the  grocers'  shops,  discovers  my  name, 
will  find  perhaps  in  the  year  2440  that  in  this  far- 
distant  time  one  being  existed  who  was  less  wrong- 
headed  than  his  contemporaries,  who  carried  self-esti- 
mation so  far  as  to  believe  themselves  arrived  at  the 
culminating  point  of  civihsation. 

This  evening  I  spent  three  hours  with  the  Emperor 
Alexander.  I  cannot  rightly  describe  the  impression 
which  I  appeared  to  make  on  him.  My  words  sounded 
like  a  voice  from  the  other  world.  The  inward  feehng 
of  the  Emperor  has,  moreover,  much  altered,  and  to 
this  I  believe  I  have  much  contributed. 

499.  February  9. — I  write  in  two  hours  what  my 
copyist  can  hardly  prepare  in  five ;    hence  it  happens 


4S6    EXTRACTS   FROM  METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

that  my  writing  as  well  as  my  style  suffers  from  the 
necessary  haste.  Nine  times  out  of  ten  I  am  quite 
ashamed  when  I  read  it  over  again.  Alfieri  asserted 
that  to  write  really  well  a  man  should  copy  the  manu- 
script four  or  five  times  before  it  goes  to  the  printer  ; 
then  the  printed  copy  should  be  laid  aside  for  some 
months,  and  then  two  days  devoted  to  the  correction  of 
each  proof  sheet.  What  would  become  of  the  world  if 
this  process  was  imposed  on  us  in  the  offices  ?  Alfieri 
forgot  to  add  that  people  should  only  write  when  they 
feel  intellectually  moved  to  do  so.  With  us  poor  people 
the  contrary  is,  unhappily,  always  the  case.  I  generally 
write  the  most  when  I  have  the  deepest  feeling  of  my 
stupidity,  because  nothing  puts  me  in  this  flattering 
moral  position  so  easily  as  a  long,  often  senseless,  strife 
of  words. 

500.  February  12. — The  Laybach  Congress  is  to- 
day like  a  father  who  knows  a  child  is  about  to  be  born 
to  him.  Will  it  be  a  boy  or  a  girl,  an  angel  or  a 
monster  .^  The  poor  father  cannot  know  this  till  the 
moment  of  the  arrival. 

The  star  of  the  Eussian  Premier  begins  to  decline. 
The  breach  between  Capo  dTstria  and  the  Emperor  con- 
stantly increases ;  in  a  team,  if  one  horse  pulls  to  the 
rioht  and  the  other  to  the  left,  the  carriafje  will  not 
reach  its  destination  till  the  stroncrer  has  draijo-ed  off 
the  weaker  of  the  two.  The  Emperor  is  the  stronger, 
and  for  transparent  reasons. 

501.  February  17. — We  have  to-day  received  the 
first  direct  news  from  Naples.  The  Prince  Eegent  holds 
fast  to  his  friends,  and  these  assert  that  the  whole 
nation  are  as  one.  Now,  tliis  will  be  seen  Mdien  the 
first  shot  is  fired. 

Bignon's  brochure  on  the  Troppau  Congress  is  from 


AT   LAYBACII.  487 

the  first  to  the  last  page  a  tissue  of  erroneous  assertions, 
doctrinaire  rubbish,  diplomatic  pathos,  and  wilful  un- 
truth. I  look  through  nearly  all  the  pamphlets  which 
come  out ;  I  read  Bignon's  in  fifteen  and  Pradt's  in  five 
minutes.  From  the  title  I  gather  what  it  is  all  about, 
then  I  read  the  conclusion  to  ascertain  the  point  to  be 
arrived  at,  and  then  I  dip  into  five  or  six  places — more 
I  do  not  need  to  enable  me  to  have  a  knowledge  of  the 
whole.  Just  now  there  are  two  sexes  in  politics.  Tlie 
Doctrinaires  are  neither  of  the  two,  and  with  them  I 
have  nothing  in  common  ;  I  hardly  ever  read  them  and 
never  listen  to  them  ;  for  such  authors  I  am  a  good  and 
also  a  bad  pubhc — good,  because  I  buy  all  the  trash 
with  which  they  weary  the  world  ;  bad,  because  I  only 
turn  over  the  leaves  of  the  book  without  any  very  deep 
examination  of  it.  Every  malady  has  its  positive 
symptoms,  every  writer  of  the  day  has  a  stamp  of 
his  own,  and  tlie  name  of  the  author  is  sufficient  to  tell 
me  beforehand  the  contents  of  his  work. 

I  lately  had  a  sharp  contest  with  Capo  dTstria,  and 
was  obliged  to  speak  to  the  Emperor  Alexander  about 
it.  I  am  certain  that  at  the  end  of  the  jSTeapohtan 
question  his  retirement  will  not  be  very  distant. 

...  I  think  it  natural  that  Nesselrode  should  like 
me ;  he  is  an  honourable,  right-thinking  man. 

.  .  .  Glorious  weather  ;  plenty  of  sun,  which  I  like. 
If  they  give  me  the  name  of  an  Obscurantist,  at  any  rate 
it  can  never  be  applied  physically.  I  can  always  stand 
at  the  very  focus  of  the  light,  that  I  may  absorb  and 
retain  it  in  all  my  pores. 

502.  February  23. — I  have  two  days  of  very  hard 
work  in  store  for  me.  You  cannot  imagine  what  stormy 
days  are  to  be  seen  in  my  room.  Twenty  or  tliirty 
persons  come  in  and  out ;  one  wants  an  order,  another 


488     EXTRACTS  FROM  METTERNICHS   PRIVATE  LETTERS. 

some  advice,  a  third  an  explanation ;  then  the  news- 
mono-ers,  the  dissatisfied,  &c.,  &c.  No  one  beheves  that 
the  Emperor  Alexander  and  I  understand  one  another 
thoroughly,  and  yet  it  is  so.  The  influence  of  the  last 
four  months  has  been  effectual ;  the  stronger  has  carried 
ofi'  the  weaker,  according  to  all  the  laws  of  mechanics, 
physics,  and  morals.  The  Eussian  Premier  hes  on  the 
ground.     Will  he  ever  get  up  again? 

503.  February  28. — To-day  we  dissolved  the  Con- 
gress. I  made  my  closing  speech.  We  are  to  meet  in 
Florence,  September  1,  1822.  The  Emperor  Alexander 
has  behaved  excellently  well.  Capo  dlstria  has  lost  the 
suit  and  pays  the  costs.  If  the  Neapohtan  affairs  go 
well,  he  is  lost ;  if  they  miscarry,  certainly  he  will  be 
saved  ;  but  I  think  they  will  go  well. 

504.  March  3. — There  is  a  stagnation  in  the  news  ; 
the  army  will  not  take  the  offensive  till  the  4th.  Laybach 
begins  to  empty,  and  one  feels  the  emptiness  more  in  a 
small  than  in  a  large  space.  The  King  of  Naples  left 
this  morning; ;  the  Itahans  all  follow  him.  I  do  not 
lament  over  the  emptiness.  It  gives  me  much  the 
same  feeling  that  I  have  when  I  step  out  of  a  ball-room 
into  my  own  house.  The  air  is  better,  the  temperature 
more  agreeable,  and  comfort  replaces  etiquette.  The 
chorus  of  Liberals  will  now  strike  up  in  a  beautiful 
manner.  I  enjoy  it  beforehand :  that  is,  abuse  from 
people  whom  I  purposely  tread  under  foot  pleases  me. 

505.  March  7. — To-day  the  first  shot  will  be 
fired.  The  affair  may  go  well  or  it  may  go  badly.  If 
it  goes  well,  our  enemies  will  exclaim  against  the  ab- 
surdity of  our  putting  forth  so  much  military  strength  ; 
if  it  goes  badly,  they  will  make  merry  over  an  enter- 
prise so  far  beyond  our  strength.  If  we  had  only 
looked  out  of  the  window  to  see  what  people  in  the 


AT  LAYBACH.  489 

street  were  doing,  those  good  people  would  have  jeered 
at  the  weaklings  wlio  had  not  passed  beyond  the  ABO 
of  the  art  of  government.  A  fine  time  for  the  metier 
of  a  minister. 

506.  March  7. — You  will  have  learned  the  success 
of  our  army  from  the  public  papers.  The  whole  affair 
will  go  off  in  vapour  because  it  was  only  vapour. 

The  populace  are  like  children  or  nervous  women 
who  beheve  in  ghosts  ;  it  belongs  to  my  nature  to  go 
straight  up  to  every  mysterious  power.  I  must  see 
clearly  and  grasp  firmly.  When  I  was  a  child  my  play- 
mates thought  to  frighten  me  with  a  ghost.  I  was  then 
a  boy  of  seven,  and  going  down  a  dark  passage  a  ghost 
came  to  meet  me.  But,  unhappily  for  the  ghost,  I  had 
a  stick  in  my  hand,  and  soon  beat  the  masqueradei'. 
This  story  of  my  seventh  year  is  the  story  of  my 
pubhc  life.  I  am  always  flying  out  at  what  to  others 
seems  unassailable.  There  now  exists  an  enormous 
power  which  is  properly  nothing  but  a  marvel  of 
phrases ;  but  the  latter  are  false,  resting  on  false  foun- 
dations, and  leading  to  false  results.  People  wish  me 
to  sanction  as  principles  what  goes  against  my  nature  ; 
if  I  wished  to  do  it,  I  could  not ;  rather  death  a  hun- 
dred times  than  accept  as  truth  what  to  my  eyes  is 
openly  false. 

The  Neapolitans  will  receive  us  as  friends  and  de- 
liverers. They  will  load  us  with  caresses  and  will 
become  our  defenders  ;  one  after  the  other  they  will 
leave  the  Eump  Parliament  with  great  pohteness  in  the 
lurch  :  the  people  will  have  nothing  of  all  that  their 
so-called  organs  say  in  the  press  or  from  the  tribune. 
They  wish  to  live  in  peace  and  quiet,  and  enjoy  the 
blessings  of  freedom  and  civilisation,  which  are  nothing 
but  the  feeling  of  certainty  for  the  morrow.     If  I  am 


490    EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

■vvise,  seven-eighths  of  the  present  world  are  mad.     If  I 
am  a  fool,  how  many  wise  people  there  are  just  now ! 

607.  March  11. — ^What  a  deplorable  part  Lord 
Holland  is  playing  !  "  Do  you  know  what  will  happen 
to  him  ?  A  fortnight  will  not  pass  by  before  he  will 
wish  to  give  half  he  possesses  to  be  able  to  recall  his 
shameful  words.  I  know  the  patriotism  of  this  kind  of 
patriot :  when  they  perceive  that  their  insolence  does 
not  succeed,  they  are  awe-struck  and  repent :  such  are 
the  heroes  of  this  century  of  enlightenment. 

508.  March  15. — On  the  12th  1  was  awoke  very 
early  by  the  news  of  the  military  insurrection  in  Ales- 
sandria and  Turin.  I  said  to  my  informant,  '  Well,  I 
have  expected  it,'  got  up  and  went  to  my  Emperor,  and 
then  to  the  Emperor  of  Russia.  We  returned  together 
to  the  first,  and  by  twelve  o'clock  the  following  laconic 
orders  were  prepared  and  despatched  : — 

1.  Tlie  Neapolitan  army  is  to  accelerate  all  its  ope- 
rations, and  not  to  trouble  itself  about  what  goes  on  in 
Piedmont. 

2.  Eighty  thousand  men  are  to  march  from  Vienna 
and  the  neighbourhood  to  Italy. 

3.  Ninety  thousand  men  from  Eussia  must  cross  our 
frontiers. 

Whereupon  we  separated  and  ate  our  dinner  as 
usual. 

509.  March  22. — If  I  calculate  correctly  we  shall 
enter  Naples  to-morrow :  this  revolution  will  be  anni- 
hilated. A  great  phantasmagoria  is,  in  fact,  broken  up  ; 
in  less  than  eight  days  this  will  be  evident  to  the  most 
unbelieving. 

Our  army  has  not  lost  one  drop  of  blood,  and  has 
gained  much  glory,   for  no  excess,    not    the    slightest 

*  In  the  English  Parliamentary  debates,  February  19,  1821. — Ed. 


THE  AUSTRLIN  ARMY  IN  ITALY.  491 

disorder,  has  taken  place.  Tliey  did  not  fire,  because 
their  fire  could  not  be  returned.  Scouts  were  never 
employed,  for  the  people  everywhere  came  to  meet  our 
troops,  received  them  as  deliverers,  and  gave  up  to 
them  the  food  they  had  concealed  from  the  inquiries 
of  their  oppressors.  Our  army  climbed  over  moun- 
tains, marched  through  narrow  passes,  and  arrived  in 
the  city  with  the  unanimous  cry,  '  Long  live  the  King  ! 
Hurrah  for  Austria  ! '  If  the  peasants  are  asked  where 
the  hostile  army  actually  is,  they  reply,  '  They  have 
fled  :  they  have  gone  to  eat  maccaroni.'  Behind  this 
nation  always  stands  Polcinello,  and  before  Polcinello 
we  were  intended  to  bow  ! 

This  is  all  very  pleasant :  still  I  do  not  know  where 
I  shall  find  the  time  for  so  much  hard  work.  Heaven 
has  endowed  me  with  the  quahties  of  draught  oxen. 
The  more  I  work,  the  better  I  am.  The  last  eight  nights. 
I  have  hardly  slept  more  than  two  hours. 

610.  March  24. — The  Piedmontese  revolution  ofoes 
on  to  meet  its  entire  defeat.  Yet  a  few  days  and  the 
Eeform  people  of  the  Directorial  Committee  in  Paris 
will  be  unpleasantly  surprised.  They  calculate  there 
on  two  eventualities  :  the  one,  that  we  shall  not  venture 
to  touch  Neapohtan  freedom  ;  the  other,  that  if  we  do 
we  shall  be  beaten.     Poor  people  ! 

511.  March  28.— What  do  Lord  Holland  and  Co. 
say  ?  Pepe,  Minichini  and  their  friends  ?  Sixty  of  these 
poor  devils  have  gone  on  board  ship,  because  they  no 
longer  knew  where  to  lay  their  heads  in  their  father- 
land ! 

The  first  gunshot  was  fired  upon  us  by  the  Ge- 
neralissimo of  the  insurgents.  This  Generalissimo  with 
his  whole  mob  has  disappeared  as  entirely  as  the  cedar 
of  Lebanon.     The  Prince  de  Carignan,  too,  has  lost  the 


492     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERXICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

taste  for  his  undertaking.  What  will  become  of  the  poor 
country  ^  It  has  a  King  who  would  sooner  surrender 
than  say  Yes :  his  successor  says  No,  and  with  that 
a  revolution  is  destroyed.     The  example  is  not  bad. 

612.  March  31. — A  war  of  thirteen  days,  from  the 
first  shot  to  the  capitulation  of  the  whole  kingdom,  is 
not  a  very  long  war.  General  Foy  was  right  in  his  wild 
speech  of  March  20,  when  he  stated  as  his  conviction  that 
no  Austrian  would  come  out  of  the  Abruzzi  if  ever  they 
succeeded  in  getting  in.  The  Delphian  oracle  never 
prophesied  better,  and  the  Sibyls,  Madame  Lenormant 
included,  have  never  prophesied  anything  more  posi- 
tive. Certainly  no  Austrian  will  come  out  of  the 
Abruzzi,  because  the  army,  after  concluding  the  Nea- 
politan expedition,  will  be  divided  in  order  to  settle  tJie 
Piedmontese  business  for  the  execution  of  which  it  will 
choose  a  more  convenient  road. 

513.  April  3. — I  am  in  the  strangest  position  I 
have  ever  been  in.  I  have  on  hand  an  extinguished  revo- 
lution and  two  revolutions  in  full  blaze :  one  monarch 
who  will  not  stir,  and  another  who  will  go  forward  with 
double  strides.*  The  first  will  not  leave  Florence  unless 
I  go  there,  and  will  only  follow  me  ;  I  may  write  to 
him  ever  so  much,  write  to  him  through  the  two  Em- 
perors, let  him  be  personally  entreated  by  our  Ambas- 
sadors— he  remains  deaf  and  dumb  and  ijives  no  answer 
but  '  Send  Metternich  to  me.'  The  other  rushes  like  a 
madman  at  death  and  the  devil,  listens  neither  to  Em- 
perors nor  ambassadors,  but  writes  letter  after  letter,  in 
which  there  is  nothing  but  '  Send  me  Metternich.'  But 
meantime  I  cannot  get  away  from  here.  I  can  neither 
get  the  one  to  go  nor  the  other  to  stay.  The  Emperors 
are  wroth  and  I  cross  myself.    This  is  certain.    Enemies 

*  The  Grand-Duke  of  Tuscany  and  Duke  of  Modena. — Ed. 


THREE    REVOLUTIONS.  493 

are  much  the  most  easy  to  manage :  you  run  straight 
at  them  and  make  away  with  them  ;  but  friends  ! 

I  write,  and  write,  and  I  shall  soon  have  used  up  as 
many  pens  as  all  the  geese  in  Bohemia  can  furnish, 
which  is  certainly  no  small  number. 

The  history  of  the  Piedmontese  Eevolution  is  quite 
remarkable ;  nobody  knows  it  thoroughly.  Some  do 
not  wish  for  a  Eevolution,  and  yet  make  it ;  others  wish 
for  it,  but  work  against  it — a  Babel  of  a  confusion. 
This  revolution,  calculated  on  the  assumed  weakness  of  a 
man  of  strong  character,  and  on  the  strength  of  will 
of  an  inexperienced  youth  (Prince  de  Carignan),  sup- 
ported by  sects  who  desire  the  Spanish  Constitution, 
and  opposed  by  Liberals  who  do  not — is  also  a  horrible 
confusion.  But  yet  the  revolution  seems  almost  super- 
annuated, and  this  fashion,  too,  will  pass  away  as  well  as 
that  of  defending  the  virtue  of  Queen  Caroline  of  Eng- 
land. I  do  not  say  that  there  will  be  no  more  revolu- 
tions, but  they  will  be  without  substance,  more  like  the 
angling  of  an  old  coquette,  which  among  amateurs  may 
perhaps  still  please,  but  real  love  only  inspires  youth 
and  makes  madmen. 

514.  Ajjril  6. — We  have  now  three  revolutions  on 
hand.  The  one  only  needs  to  have  its  nose  pulled  to 
go  down  ;  the  second  is  very  ill ;  and  the  third  seems 
to  drag  itself  along  very  wearily.  Standing  behina  the 
scenes  as  I  do,  and  seeing  the  operations  of  this  bad 
machinery,  I  feel  ready  to  die  of  weariness.  Certainly 
no  one  in  Europe  believes  that  this  feeling  of  weariness 
steals  quite  over  me.  The  only  interest  is  in  the  worn- 
out  patriots,  such  as  Borelli,  Poerio,  and  many  others, 
who  pledge  themselves  to  give  up  the  names  of  their 
confederates  if  a  reward  is  secured  to  them.  Who  will 
have  such  heroes  for  ten  louis  d'or  apiece  may  enquire 


494     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

for    them  :    I  am   selling   off.     And  I   am  to  bow  my 
head  before  such  patriotism,  such  citizen-like  virtue  ! 

615.  Aprillo. — While  military  operations  are  going 
on  a  minister  takes  his  holidays.  The  Neapolitan  war 
gave  me  eight  days  :  the  Piedmontese,  only  four.  Every- 
one must  acknowledge  that  no  time  has  been  lost.  The 
Eadicals  have  lied  so  openly  about  it  that  they  must 
now  be  somewhat  ashamed. 

The  greatest  result  of  the  last  nine  months  is  the 
good  understanding  between  the  two  Emperors.  One 
thing  is  now  certain,  nothing  will  again  divide  them  ;  I 
will  answer  for  that.  This  result  belongs  entirely  to 
me,  hke  a  child  which  one  man  and  one  woman 
have  on  a  desert  island.  To  have  children  there  must 
be  two,  a  woman  and  a  man.  I  know  certainly  that  in 
the  above  case  I  was  the  man  on  the  island. 

616.  April  18. — In  about  three  weeks  Laybachwill 
be  as  if  extinct.  We  shall  arrive  at  Vienna  a  httle 
after  the  swallows.  I  am  sorry  to  leave  the  beautiful 
country.  Beautiful  it  is,  in  the  truest  sense  of  the  word, 
here  where  everything  is  a  lovely  green  and  the  high 
snowy  peaks  of  the  Alps  bound  the  vast  horizon.  The 
sight  of  this  beautiful  nature  revives  the  heart  which 
had  been  stifled  at  the  conference-table.  What  must 
my  heart  be  like,  that  can  sit  for  ever  at  that  eternal  con- 
ference-table  .     But  I  will  talk  no  more  of  this  table : 

it  has  done  its  duty,  and  may  now  be  put  on  one  side. 

617.  April  20. — Within  six  weeks  two  wars  and 
two  revolutions  have  been  concluded.  We  may  hope 
that  by  sunset  the  third  will  be  in  the  same  condition. 

The  Emperor  will  send  Prince  Esterhazy  as  Ambas- 
sador to  England  for  the  Coronation.  He  will  be 
accompanied  by  my  son-in-law  (Count  Joseph  Ester- 
hazy),  Count  Gatterburg  (the  same  who  with  his  trum- 


THE  EMPEROR  ALEXANDER.  495 

peter  took  the  fortress  of  Alessandria),  and  Floret.  My 
son  will  join  them  in  Paris.  Victor  is  a  tall  and  ex- 
cellent young  fellow,  the  quintessence  of  a  '  fashionable  ' 
new  to  the  world,  as  people  are  at  eighteen.  He  does 
not  want  for  understanding,  and  if  he  is  in  a  good  mind 
he  makes  one  laugh,  for  he  has  much  humour. 

518.  May  1. — The  country  becomes  daily  more 
lovely ;  the  diplomatists  make  great  excursions.  Yes- 
terday, I  was  able  for  the  first  time  to  go  out.  Little 
Nesselrode  and  I  slipped  out  of  the  office,  and  staid  out 
for  more  than  eight  hours.  Nesselrode  is  enchanted, 
like  a  child  who  has  never  seen  higher  mountains  than 
the  banks  of  the  Ehine. 

519.  May  6. — What  may  happen  in  the  East  is 
beyond  all  calculation.  Perhaps  it  may  not  be  much  ; 
beyond  our  eastern  frontiers  three  or  four  hundred 
thousand  hanged,  strangled,  or  impaled,  do  not  count 
for  much.  Ypsilanti,  that  masked  Lil3eral,  that  Hellen- 
ist, will  bring  me  into  a  dilemma. 

520.  May  9. — To-day  I  had  a  long  conversation 
with  the  Emperor  Alexander.  I  venture  to  say  there  is 
no  one  in  this  world  clever  and  intelligent  enough  to 
add  anything  to  what  was  actually  spoken  yesterday 
between  me  and  the  Emperor.  If  ever  anyone  from 
black  became  white,  he  has.  My  greatest  merit  con- 
sists in  this — by  my  present  influence  to  prevent  him 
from  roaming  beyond  what  is  right  and  good  :  for  the 
bad  begins  on  the  boundary  of  the  good ;  and  this 
boundary  is  so  slightly  marked  that  the  understanding 
can  hardly  discover  it  without  that  powerful  and  wise 
assistance  which  is  called  tact. 

521.  ^tay  13. — We  have  brought  forth  a  work 
which  may  be  acknowledged  by  the  most  honourable 
man  without  blushing.     We  have  made  a  great  epoch 


496     EXTRACTS  FROM   METTERNICIl'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

— great  because  the  conduct  of  it  was  very  difficult. 
More  than  great  is  the  result  of  the  concord  here 
established  between  those  who  possess  the  will  and  the 
power  for  action.  In  three  months  no  one  will  speak 
any  more  of  the  events  of  March  and  April.  All  will 
keep  silence :  the  good,  because  they  always  are  silent  ; 
the  bad,  because  they  are  not  flattered  by  their  discom- 
fiture ;  the  stupid,  because  they  really  do  not  know 
what  has  happened,  and  others  do  not  tell  them. 

622.  May  15. — The  spring  days  here  are  wonder- 
fully fine  :  we  have  eighteen  to  twenty  degrees  of  heat, 
and  the  pleasant  influence  of  the  sun  acts  on  me  power- 
fully.    My  corporeal  frame  is  enamoured  of  the  sun. 

I  have  climbed  a  mountain  from  which  one  can  see 
the  loveliest  landscape  for  miles  around.  When  I  see 
such  a  sight  I  always  wonder  how  people  can  settle 
themselves  in  an  ugly  country.  The  diplomatists  have 
gone  ofl"  very  sorrowfully  ;  the  South  has  something 
attractive  about  it,  and  that  explains  several  circum- 
stances in  the  affair.  For  history  is  properly  only  the 
history  of  the  human  mind,  which  is  full  of  virtues  and 
passions,  and  really  contains  very  few  bad  qualities. 
Perhaps  it  is  the  influence  of  the  sun  which  incites  me 
to  so  mild  a  philosophy. 

523.  May  16. — In  London,  as  I  foresaw,  no  one 
thinks  any  more  of  the  late  events  :  a  proof  how  wrong 
one  is  to  flatter  popular  feeling.  If  any  of  their  apostles 
regard  this  feeling  as  a  religion,  they  are  at  this 
moment,  when  they  get  such  a  slap  in  the  face,  bound 
to  show  their  strength.  But  such  popular  feeling  is 
only  a  piece  of  Iniffbonery  played  by  ])ad  performers.  It 
brings  inexhaustible  treasures  to  the  quacks,  but  to  the 
wise  not  a  penny.  But  wise  men  who  use  them  ten- 
derly are  either  children  or  jugglers,  and,  therefore,  not 


RETURN   TO   VIENNA.  497 

wise.  This  feeling  has  with  me  the  value  of  a  real 
religion,  which  gives  to  me  what  fools  call  strength, 
but  which,  closely  analysed,  is  only  reason,  and,  indeed, 
only  that  reason  which  is  mere  want  of  stupidity.  That 
is  my  secret,  but  I  do  not  betray  it,  because  it  makes 
people  take  me  for  an  extraordinary  man.  I  know  this 
is  the  truth,  but  I  do  not  wish  others  to  know  it. 

524.  May  18. — The  town  is  turned  into  a  village  : 
the  streets  are  empty,  everything  has  passed  away,  even 
Laybach's  greatness.  My  only  amusement  is  the  Italian 
opera,  which,  after  many  changes,  at  last  became  good. 
'  Eduardo  and  Cristina,'  by  Eossini,  is  what  they  are 
performing  now,  and  it  is  certainly  one  of  his  best  works. 
'  Cenerentola,'  too,  has  been  very  well  sung. 

525.  May  21. — I  now  part  from  this  pleasant  and 
beautiful  town  that  has  made  so  much  noise  in  the 
world  which,  like  every  noise,  passes  away.  But  the 
result  is  imperishable.  We  have  accomplished  good 
and  great  things.  They  will  not,  indeed,  be  examined  into, 
because  a  man  is  more  concerned  about  an  eight-days' 
fever  than  busied  with  eight  years'  health.  My  work 
has  much  in  common  with  that  of  a  physician  :  if  the 
patient  dies,  people  say  the  physician  has  killed  him  ; 
if  he  gets  well,  nature  has  saved  him.  To-morrow  I 
shall  start,  and  after  making  a  little  digression  towards 
the  Yeldeser  lake  with  the  owner  of  Eadmannsdorf,  I 
shall  take  the  road  by  Wurzen  to  Vienna. 


VOL.  III.  K  K 


498 


RETURN  TO    VIENNA. 

Extracts   from  Mettemich's   private  Letters   from   May   28   to 
October  1,  1821. 

520.  Arrival  in  Vienna — appointment  as  State  Chancellor.  527.  Reflec- 
tions on  the  return.  528.  The  villa  at  Rennweg.  529.  A  hlockhead. 
530.  Tedious  dinner.  531.  Good  news  from  St.  Petersburg.  532.  Inten- 
tions of  the  Emperor  Alexander.  533.  Sad  recollections  at  Baden. 
634.  A  letter  from  the  Emperor  Alexander.  535.  The  die  is  cast.  536. 
False  reports.  637.  Mdme.  de  Stael's  '  Dix  annees  clexii:  538.  Diifi- 
culties  of  the  situation.  539.  Unpleasantness  of  the  Greek  question. 
540.  News  from  St.  Petersburg.  541.  Hohenlohe's  miracle.  642.  "Will 
the  King  of  England  come  to  Vienna  ? 

526.  Vienna^  May  28,  1821. — I  arrived  here  the 
day  before  yesterday  at  four  o'clock,  after  a  horrible 
night,  from  dreadful  weather.  Such  a  journey  tho- 
roughly exhausts  me.  I  hate  travelling,  and  in  a 
carriage  I  feel  so  cramped,  both  physically  and  morally, 
that  even  in  a  not  very  long  journey  I  fall  into  a  sort  of 
stupor.  Certain  it  is  that  I  cannot  endure  myself  on 
a  journey. 

The  pubhc  journals  announce  new  honours  for  me 
(the  appointment  to  be  TIaus-  Hof-  unci  Staatkanzler). 
This  is  a  bomb  which  has  exploded  over  my  head,  and 
which  I  could  not  avoid,  because  I  could  not  see  it 
coming.  If  I  had  only  suspected  the  mounting  of  this 
battery,  I  should  have  endeavoured  to  make  it  harm- 
less, which  would  have  been  easy.  My  Imperial  master 
has  managed  the  business  with  the  greatest  possible 
kindness — indeed,  with  a  studied  care,  which  is  not 
habitual  to  him.     But   the  result  is  really  a  finishing 


RETURN   TO   VIENNA,  499 

blow  for  tlie  sufferer.  In  this  new  position  my  sphere 
of  action  will  be  much  enlarged.  I  do  not  Hke  to  take 
up  too  much,  because  I  like  to  master  what  lies  within 
my  province.  It  is  certainly  a  marvel  of  fate,  that 
men  are  often  brought  into  such  a  position  who  care 
the  least  about  it.  A  part  now  falls  to  me  which  would 
satisfy  twenty  inferior  ambitions.  God  knows  that  I 
have  no  other  ambition  than  to  do  good.  If,  to  attain 
this  object,  I  had  to  go  back  into  my  hole,  I  should  be 
happy  and  content.  The  thing  is,  however,  done,  and 
cannot  be  altered.  But  in  my  new  position  neither  a 
wig  nor  an  ermine  mantle  is  necessary.  That  would  in- 
deed have  been  the  worst  of  all  miseries. 

I  am  back  again  in  my  own  good  city.  Of  course 
everyone  has  foreseen  and  foretold  everything.  There 
is  no  one  here  who  thinks  that  anything  could  have 
been  otherwise  :  the  case  was  so  simple  and  plain.  Who 
here  ever  thought  that  Pepe  and  Ansaldi  were  heroes  ? 
Carbonarism  and  intrepidity,  liberalism  and  reason,  have, 
indeed,  ahvays  been  shown  to  be  opposites.  Everything 
has  happened  so  simply :  just  as  all  have  wished  and 
desired  it :  like  my  valet  Giroux,  who,  if  anyone  asserts 
exactly  the  contrary  of  what  he  has  just  said,  answers, 
^C'est  ce  que  je  vous  disais.'  To  discuss  after  an  event 
is  never  possible ;  for  heroes  then  spring  out  of  the 
earth  like  mushrooms. 

527.  May  30. — How  strange  it  is  to  return  to  a 
place  where  one  feels  as  if  one  had  never  been  away ! 
The  same  furniture  and  arrangements  remain  as  we  left 
them.  We  alone  were  the  sport  of  agitation,  and 
nothing  about  us  connected  itself  with  it.  If  I  then 
turn  my  gaze  within  and  ask  what  has  changed  in  me,, 
I  find  no  antithesis  there.  I  have  already  seen  some- 
hundred  persons ;  each  thinks  he  must  say  something 

K  K  2 


500     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

to  me,  and  among  them  all  there  is  not  one  who  ven- 
tures to  repeat  to  me  what  he  certainly  said  to  others 
a  short  time  ago  :  people  hke  my  valet  are  quite  innu- 
merable. 

628.  June  2. — With  the  first  sunbeams  this  morn- 
ing I  visited  my  villa,  which  has  much  improved  in 
appearance.  On  the  front  of  the  villa  I  have  had  these 
words  placed  :  Parva  domus,  magna  quies.  The  first  is 
true  enough  ;  the  latter  seems  to  me  somewhat  false. 

The  town  empties  itself  just  like  a  blown  egg.  The 
good  people  think  that  it  is  summer,  because  the  almanac 
says  so.  But  I  stand  out  to  the  contrary,  and  maintain 
it  is  not  true.  A  great  quantity  of  ice  must  have  come 
down  from  Newfoundland  :  that  is  the  only  explanation 
of  this  cold  weather. 

529.  June  7. — No  one  is  more  busy  than  a  block- 
head, because  everything  is  important  in  his  eyes  :  no 
one  is  more  active,  because  his  activity  leads  to  nothing. 
He  soon  finds  it  out,  and  cannot  help  himself ;  he  may 
do  what  he  ^vill,  and  make  the  greatest  efforts,  still  he 
succeeds  in  moving  nothing  but  himself.  .   .  . 

I  will  stay  two  days  in  Baden,  where  I  will  take 
some  baths,  and  I  am  now  looking  for  accommodation. 
I  have  sold  my  house  in  Baden,  for  I  was  determined 
not  again  to  cross  the  threshold  of  that  unhappy  dwel- 
lino;,  which  is  clouded  with  the  sad  recollections  of  the 
death  of  my  dear  daughter  Marie. 

530.  July  13. — At  last  it  is  no  longer  cold,  I  can 
spend  the  day  in  my  garden.  I  have  had  the  most 
supremely  tiresome  people  to  dinner.  Our  town  is  quite 
empty.  It  is,  indeed,  never  filled  with  very  loveable 
people,  but  there  are  times  when  I  feel  myself  loveable 
in  comparison  with  all  who  come  near  me.  This  com- 
parison happily  does  not  flatter  my  vanity.    My  flowers 


EMPEROR   ALEXANDER.  501 

are  beautiful :  this  is  tlie  only  impression  the  day  has 
left  upon  me.  I  do  not  remember  one  single  word  that 
has  been  spoken.  The  newspapers,  too,  bring  me  no 
new  fine  thoughts.  The  Turks  devour  the  Greeks,  and 
the  Greeks  decapitate  the  Turks  :  this  is  the  best  news 
that  I  hear. 

531.  July  18. — From  St.  Petersburg,  on  the  whole, 
I  get  very  good  tidings.  The  Emperor  Alexander  re- 
mains just  the  same  as  on  the  day  of  our  separation. 
But  this  alone  will  bring  nothing  forward — for  that  my 
shoulder  is  needed.  As  the  affair  stands,  there  are  three 
contingencies  :  the  immediate  outbreak  of  quarrel,  an 
intervention,  or  locahsation. 

In  the  first  two  cases,  I  am  fettered  on  every  side  : 
not  so  in  the  last.  Which  of  them  will  prevail.  Heaven 
knows.  The  most  improbable  is  that  which  the  world 
considers  the  most  probable — namely,  my  first  supposi- 
tion. I  have  despatched  five  or  six  couriers,  who  are 
all  very  quick  in  their  movements.  Nothing  less  is  at 
stake  than  the  life  or  death  of  sound  common  sense. 
And  sound  common  sense  will  secure  that  end  which  I, 
in  common  with  a  small  minority,  hold  to  be  the  best, 
while  a  great  number  of  fools  and  knaves  take  it  to  be 
the  bad  cause. 

532.  July  2o. — My  different  despatches  are  ready. 
I  feel  in  the  midst  of  a  web,  like  my  friends  the  spiders, 
whom  I  love,  because  I  have  so  often  wondered  at 
them. 

The  Emperor  Alexander  and  I  took  the  same  views 
of  the  present  affair.  But  he  has  changed  his  place  of 
residence,  and  hence  it  is  uncertain  whether  he  will 
remain  true  to  the  point  of  view  which  is  easy  for  me, 
but  difficult  for  him,  to  take.  The  setting  in  which  a 
man  finds  himself  has  immense  influence  on  him  ;  it  re- 


502     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICIFS   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

quires  great  strength  of  mind  to  withstand  surrounding 
influence,  and  still  greater  to  break  through  it.  The 
Emperor  remains  firm,  but  he  stands  alone.  Some 
wish  the  contrary  of  what  he  wishes,  and  have  pointed 
it  out ;  others  have  not  the  strength  to  wish  anything  at 
all.  To  keep  him  right,  the  Emperor  must  be  separated 
from  his  surrounding.  He  wills  what  I  will,  but  those 
about  him  will  the  contrary. 

With  this  feehng,  the  Emperor  Alexander  has  taken 
the  only  resolution  that  could  be  taken  ;  he  has  with- 
drawn from  all  positive  action  and  thrown  himself 
morally  upon  me.  This  explains  my  cobweb.  Such 
webs  are  pretty  to  look  at,  cleverly  spun,  and  will  bear 
a  light  touch,  but  not  a  gale  of  wind. 

I  have  now  made  my  operations  morally  comj)lete  in 
every  direction  ;  but  this  position  of  things  keeps  the 
poor  spider  at  the  centre  of  his  fine  web.  Good  for 
the  moment,  but  as  for  what  concerns  the  future,  the 
similar  views  which  subsist  between  the  Emperor  and 
myself  must  have  results,  or  a  breath  of  wind  will 
destroy  the  web. 

633.  Bade?i,  July  24. — I  will  take  baths  here  for 
two  days,  then  stay  three  days  in  Vienna,  and  so  on.  It 
has  made  me  very  sad  to  come  here,  to  the  place  where 
I  lost  half  my  life.  Many  2:)eople,  who  perhaps  are 
much  better  than  I  am,  like  to  be  in  a  place  where 
sad  recollections  meet  them.  I,  on  the  contrary, 
would  have  such  places  levelled  to  the  ground  :  they 
should  not  only  be  uninhabited,  but  the  last  trace 
of  them  destroyed.  I  would  have  them  covered  with 
thorns  and  high  grass  like  a  wilderness,  the  only  picture 
that  has  any  resemblance  to  my  heart.  Just  for  that 
reason,  I  love  the  ashes,  and  the  ancients  were  quite 
right  to  love  and  reverence  them.     Death  is  opposed  to 


STRANGFORD   LEAVES   CONSTANTINOPLE.  503 

life,  the  past  to  the  present,  what  is  not  to  what  is.  To 
preserve  the  remains,  while  the  form  and  substance 
are  altered,  is  a  beautiful  idea,  and  the  only  one  which 
suits  my  way  of  thinking  and  feeling.  For  where  there 
is  no  longer  life,  man  cannot  call  it  back  ;  what  contains 
life  should  perish  with  him. 

My  wife  has  contrary  views,  and  is,  therefore,  in 
despair  that  I  have  sold  the  house — the  scene  of  such 
calamity.  She  would  wilhngly  have  kept  it,  if  not  have 
lived  in  it.  I,  on  my  part,  have  the  comfort  of  knowing 
that  it  will  shortly  be  pulled  down.  In  a  year  or  two 
nothing  of  it  will  remain. 

534.  Vienna,  August  11. — From  St.  Petersburg  a 
long  letter  from  the  Emperor  Alexander  to  the  Emperor 
Francis,  and  one  to  myself,  have  arrived.*  His  position 
is  a  difficult  one.  It  is  no  small  thing  suddenly  to  turn 
in  a  direction  entirely  opposed  to  the  course  of  his 
whole  life  !  My  position  is  far  easier,  on  account  of  my 
antecedents  ;  meanwhile  it  is  difficult  enough.  The  Prince 
Eegent  has  decided  to  come  to  Vienna  in  October. 

535.  August  21. — The  die  is  cast.  Strangford  has 
left  Constantinople.  It  is  not,  indeed,  war,  but  I  am 
caught,  as  I  feared,  and  cannot  think  of  leaving  Vienna, 
because  everything  rests  on  my  shoulders.  It  is  in- 
admissible for  a  soldier  to  leave  his  post  during  the 
battle.  I  shall  at  once  cause  the  meeting  of  a  new 
Compress. 

*  The  Emperor  Alexander  writes  to  Metternich,  July  17,  1821 : — '  The 
union  between  the  three  Courts,  whose  efforts  Providence  has  so  completely 
hlessed,  can  in  futui-e  only  be  founded  on  mutual  and  unrestricted  confidence. 
That  trust  which  your  august  sovereign  has  placed  in  my  intentions  and 
views  will  not  be  deceived,  notwithstanding  all  the  diffieulties,  more  par- 
ticularly inherent  to  the  position  of  Russia,  daily  arising  from  aflairs  in  the 
East.  I  have  explained  myself  on  this  point  without  reserve  to  the  Emperor 
Francis.  lie  will,  I  hope,  find  in  my  letter  a  new  proof  of  the  constancy  of 
my  principles  and  the  extent  of  my  friendship.' — Ed. 


504     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

536.  August  28. — Eight  days  ago  my  mother  in- 
vited me  to  visit  her  at  her  villa,  which  is  a  mile  and  a 
half  from  Vienna.  I  entered  my  carriage  at  eight  o'clock 
in  the  evening.  By  nine  o'clock  the  report  was  spread 
that  I  had  posted  off  to  meet  the  Emperor  Alexander  ; 
hence  it  w^as  concluded  a  very  grave  crisis  was  to  be 
feared :  while  the  same  evening,  at  eleven  o'olock,  five- 
and-twenty  of  my  intimate  friends  assembled  at  my 
house.  Another  proof  that  I  cannot  stir  without  making 
a  sensation. 

537.  August  29. — I  am  now  reading  Madame  de 
Stael's  work,  '  Les  dix  annees  d^exil; '  it  is  full  of  thought, 
very  fanciful,  but  intolerable  in  style,  like  all  that  this 
remarkable  woman  writes.  All  the  portraits,  with  the 
exception  of  Bernadotte's,  bear  the  stamp  of  truth  and 
genius.  Fouche's  portrait,  for  instance,  is  thoroughly 
given  in  the  following  sentence :  '  FoucM  est  le  seul 
homine  qui  j)eut  veritahlement  seconder  Bonaparte^  en 
poj'tant,  mallieurew-ement  pour  le  monde^  une  sorte  de 
moderation  adroite  dans  un  systhne  sans  bornes.' 

Of  the  French  she  says  very  justly  :  '  Les  besoins  de 
r amour-prop j^e  chez  les  Franqais  Vemportent  beaucoup  sur 
ceux  da  caractere.  U^ie  chose  bizarre^  cest  que  les 
Franqais,  qui  saississent  le  ridicide  avec  tant  d'esprit,  ne 
demandent  pas  mieux  que  de  se  rendre  ridicules  des  que 
leitr  vanite  y  trouve  son  compte  d'une  autre  rnaniere.  II 
est  inoui  combien  il  est  facile  de  faire  prendre  une  betise 
pour  etendard  au  peujAe  le  plus  spirituel  de  la  terre  !  ' 

How  is  it  that  a  woman,  who  says  and  feels  all  this 
so  truly,  never  for  a  moment  doubts  whether  this  same 
people  is  really  fit  for  liberty,  fraternity,  and  equality  ? 
Madame  de  Stael  resembles  all  partisans  gifted  with 
imagination :  she  loves  a  cause,  but  not  its  consequences. 
As  often  as  she  enters  the  field  of  politics  or  govern- 


MADAME   DE   STAEL.  505 

inent,  or  touches  on  any  man's  deeds,  she  is  hke  a 
person  who  asserts  that  there  is  nothing  more  whole- 
some than  arsenic,  and  who  yet  gives  in  every  page  of 
her  book  most  clever  and  exact  descriptions  of  the 
unspeakable  suffering  which  is  the  consequence  of  this 
poison,  and  depicts  the  agony  before  the  approaching 
death.     With  sucli  a  one  it  is  difficult  to  argue. 

Napoleon  has  often  spoken  to  me  of  her.  She  did, 
indeed,  once  beg  me  to  obtain  for  her  the  permission  she 
so  specially  desired — namely,  to  perorate  in  the  salons  of 
Paris.  My  head,  however,  does  not  seem  to  be  easily 
turned,  for  I  was  able  to  withstand  her  without  difficulty. 

The  story  of  her  journey  through  Vienna  in  1812  is 
worth  mentioning.  Herr  Eocca,  who  accompanied  her, 
was  cited  to  appear  as  a  deserter  from  the  French 
army,  and  threatened  with  extradition.  Madame  de 
Stael  was  displeased  because  they  barely  promised  her 
that  Herr  Kocca  should  not  be  given  up,  whereas  she 
wished  to  introduce  him  in  the  Vienna  salons.  The 
man  to  whom  she  uttered  her  complaints  (Pohce-Presi- 
dent  Hager)  was  the  best  of  men,  but  certainly  very 
dry.  When  she  begged  him  to  produce  Herr  Eocca,  he 
answered,  '  But  pray.  Madam,  are  we  to  go  to  war 
about  Herr  Eocca  ?  '  To  which  Madame  de  Stael  an- 
swered, '  Why  not  ?  Herr  Eocca  is  my  friend,  and 
will  be  my  husband.'  An  example  this  of  how  httle 
use  mere  espiit  is  in  this  world.  Talleyrand  rightly 
says,  '  L'esprit  sert  a  tout  et  ne  mhie  a  rien.''  Celebrity 
was  a  power  to  Madame  de  Stael.  The  longer  I  live, 
the  more  I  mistrust  this  power. 

538.  September  3. — I  daily  receive  additional  proofs 
that  the  Emperor  Alexander  has  taken  root  in  my 
school.  I  understand  him,  and  that  is  a  great  thing. 
His  position  is   extremely  difficult.     What  will  be  the 


506    EXTRACTS  FROM  METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

consequences  ?  Friend  Wellington  says,  '  Le  diahh 
m'emporte  si  je  le  saisJ  I  say  the  same  ;  meanwhile  I 
go  on  as  if  I  were  certain  of  being  able  to  control  the 
course  of  events.  The  least  vain  man  in  the  world  must 
in  certain  positions  feign  a  security  which,  under  ordi- 
nary circumstances,  would  be  self-conceit — the  most 
ridiculous  of  all  peculiarities. 

Capo  d'Istria  is  in  great  perplexity.  He  desires  agi- 
tation, but  the  Emperor  does  not. 

539.  September  15. — Time  has  so  overwhelmed 
me  with  burdens  that  they  are  more  numerous  than  the 
hair  on  my  head.  My  hair,  too,  has  become  quite  white, 
at  which  I  am  less  astonished  than  at  its  tenacity  in 
not  leavino;  me  altoijether. 

What  pleasant  things  the  Greeks  have  brought  upon 
themselves  !  No  chapter  would  be  long  enough  to  show 
what  germs  of  evil  this  question  conceals.  The  Eussian 
ambassador  in  Florence  is  a  horrible  man  ;  he  kindles 
the  fire  with  all  his  might.  Happily,  his  sphere  of  action 
is  less  than  the  space  his  own  comfortable  person 
occupies.  The  poor  Emperor  Alexander  does  not  know 
what  to  do  with  this  creature ;  but  he  still  retains  him. 
The  weather  is  still  execrable.  Madame  de  Stael  would 
not  find  it  difficult  to  show  that  the  weather  is  bad 
because  the  Enfjlish  Constitution  is  not  introduced 
everywhere  ;  Abbe  de  Pradt  would  say  it  was  because 
the  colonies  are  not  emancipated ;  Sir  Eobert  Wilson, 
because  the  Spanish  Constitution  has  not  yet  made 
the  round  of  Europe  ;  and,  lastly,  Professor  Thiersch, 
because  his  Teutonic  expedition  has  not  yet  entered  the 
harbour  of  Volo. 

540.  Septemher  26. — I  returned  to-night  with  the 
Emperor  from  an  excursion  to  see  the  manoeuvres,  and 
found   whole   volumes    of  letters  from  St.  Petersburg. 


PRINCE   HOHENLOHES   MIRACLES.  507 

Anything  good  ?  ISTo  !  Anything  bad  ?  No  !  Anything 
sensible  !  No  !  Anything  unfriendly  ?  No  !  Clever  ? 
No  !  Seasonable  ?  Still,  No  !  What  then — contempt- 
ible?    Yes  ! 

If  I  did  not  know  my  men,  it  would  be  enough  to 
drive  one  mad. 

541.  September  26. — There  is  something  pecuhar 
about  these  miracles  of  Prince  Hohenlohe  ;  the  Pope  and 
the  Eang  of  Bavaria  have  put  a  stop  to  his  miracle-making. 
When  in  our  days  I  hear  a  cause  cried  up  in  favour  of 
which  public  clamour  raises  its  voice,  I  say  to  myself 
there  is  nothing  in  it,  or  some  delusion  is  at  the  bottom 
of  it.  If  I  hear  that  a  saint  makes  his  appearance  with 
his  miracles  in  the  salons,  I  utterly  distrust  the  said 
saint  and  all  his  works  :  for  though  princesses  are  not 
exactly  the  best  subjects  for  a  miracle,  yet  they  are 
very  good  prey  for  the  artist  in  magic.  There  is,  how- 
ever, a  gulf  between  Saints  Hohenlohe  and  Cagliostro: 
the  former  appears  on  the  boards  at  Wurzburg,  the 
latter  at  Paris.  Place,  however,  decides  nothing  with 
respect  to  the  number  of  the  credulous  and  the  de- 
luded, for  these  are  everywhere  as  numberless  as  the 
sand-  on  the  seashore.  Jesus  Christ  had  more  labour 
for  thirty  years  to  bring  forward  truth  than  Hohenlohe 
in  thirty  minutes  with  his  magic.  Such  is  the  world. 
There  are  hardly  any  persons  in  the  world  stronger 
in  faith  than  John  Paar  and  Maurice  Dietrichstein  (the 
elder).  The  latter  asserts  that  the  blind  whom  Prince 
Hohenlohe  has  not  healed,  reall}^  see,  and  that  it  is  only 
out  of  wilfulness  that  they  stumble  over  the  stones  at 
every  corner ;  and  if  he  is  attacked  on  this  point,  he 
shelters  himself  with  the  unanswerable  argument,  '  But 
I  actually  saw  it ! '  Thus  everyone  has  his  own  manner 
of  beheving  or  of  convincing  himself.     I  beheve  in  the 


508     EXTRACTS   FHOM  METTERNICHS   PRIVATE   LETTERS 

miracles  of  Jesus  Christ,  wliicli  I  have  not  seen  ;  Die- 
trichstein  beheves  in  Hohenlohe's  miracles,  which,  he 
says,  he  has  seen. 

542.  October  1. — We  are  here  still  waiting  for  the 
decision  about  the  King  of  England's  journey  to  Vienna. 
Nothing  is  more  uncertain  than  everything  done  by  his 
British  Majesty.  He  will  in  any  case  choose  a  very  bad 
time  of  year.  I  do  not  know  how  he  is  to  be  amused. 
Preparations  will  be  made  for  some  festivities  and  they 
will  succeed  thoroughly  well,  as  all  such  things  do  in 
Vienna ;  but  between  enacting  festivities  and  giving 
pleasure  there  is  a  very  wide  difference. 


509 


VISIT  TO   THE  COURT  OF  HANOVER. 

Extracts  from  Metternich's  private  Letters  from  October  25  to 
December  31,  1821. 

543.  From  Hanover — friendly  reception  everywhere.  644.  From  Johaimis- 
berg — soirt^e  in  Cassel — tedium  on  the  journey.  64.5.  From  Frankfurt — 
the  Metternichs  and  Capo  d'Istria's.  546.  A  happy  hour — a  saying  of 
Napoleon's — feelmg  of  isolation — farewell  to  the  year  1821. 

543.  Hanover,  October  25,  1821. — Since  my  arrival 
I  have  led  the  real  Congress  life,  full  of  gala  days.  The 
hours  when  I  am  not  sitting  at  the  conference-table  I 
lose  at  dinners  three  or  four  hours  long,  or  at  routs, 
where  to  be  suffocated  is  the  least  evil  you  have  to 
go  through.  The  reception  accorded  me  by  the  King 
was  that  of  a  dear  friend.  I  do  not  remember  ever  to 
have  been  embraced  with  such  tenderness,  and  I  never 
in  all  my  life  had  so  many  fine  things  said  to  me. 
After  a  perfect  flood  of  praises,  in  which  the  King  w^as 
so  good  as  to  compare  me  to  all  the  great  men  of 
antiquity,  the  middle  ages  and  modern  times,  I  came 
at  last  to  speak  of  business,  and  then  nothing  remained 
for  me  to  desire.  I  will  do  great  and  good  things, 
without  making  any  pretension  to  be  a  Minos,  Themis- 
tocles,  Cato,  Ca3sar,  Gustavus  Adolplius,  Marlborough, 
Pitt,  Wellington,  &c.,  &c. — all  which  names  his  Majesty 
called  me  as  if  he  were  saying  a  Litany  of  Saints. 

544.  Johannisherg ,  Novemher  4. — I  left  Hanover 
on  the  evening  of  the  31st,  and  stopped  at  Cassel  on  the 
1st  to  see  the  Elector.  There  I  found  in  the  evening  a 
grand  and  numerous  company,  invited  by  Count  Spiegel 


510     EXTRACTS   FROM  METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

to  introduce  me  to  the  notabilities  of  the  town.  I  left 
Cassel  at  two,  went  through  Wilhelmshohe — one  of  the 
finest  gardens  in  Europe  — to  Marburg,  where  I  staid  the 
the  night.  On  the  3rd,  I  entered  Frankfurt.  To-day 
I  could  not  avoid  a  great  dinner  at  Viebrich,  given  in 
my  honour  by  the  Duke  of  Nassau  ;  and  now  I  have 
been  here  some  hours,  and  am  enchanted  to  find  myself 
here. 

Travelling  is  a  terrible  affair  in  my  present  position . 
I  am  bored  as  monarchs  are  bored  by  the  attentions  of 
the  Courts  which  entertain  me  on  my  journey  ;  and  I 
am  bored  as  a  prophet  is,  who  is  constantly  asked 
advice  by  everyone.  Since  I  was  so  fortunate  as  to  get 
rid  of  the  Carbonari,  people  think  I  need  only  show 
myself  to  destroy  everything  that  is  in  anyone's  way. 
Every  Government  is  at  this  time  ill,  and  all  from  their 
own  fault :  since  my  German  Conferences  they  look 
upon  me  as  the  chief  legislator  of  Germany,  and,  since 
1821,  as  the  annihilator  of  the  Eevolutionists.  Each 
one  begs  me  to  destroy  theirs,  or  at  least  to  give  them 
my  receipts  for  doing  so.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Ee- 
volutionists (this  is  the  petite  piece),  all  trumpery  people, 
present  themselves  to  me,  as  far  as  possible  to  assure 
me  of  the  sincerity  of  their  feelings.  It  is,  for  instance, 
quite  amusing  to  see  what  is  now  going  on  in  Frank- 
furt, one  of  the  most  horrible  towns  in  Germany.  From 
the  moment  people  knew  that  I  was  coming,  they 
altered  their  looks  and  language.  The  first  people  who 
come  to  meet  me  at  the  hotels  are  the  bitterest  Eadi- 
cals,  and  I  do  not  remember  ever  to  have  endured 
rougher  marks  of  respect.  To  hsten  to  them  one  would 
suppose  they  had  only  waited  for  me  to  change  their 
rehgion. 

I  have  with  me  De  Pont  and  a  secretary,  Langenau 


TRAVELLING.  511 

and  Handel.  I  shall  remain  liere  till  the  5th  or  6th, 
and  be  at  Frankfurt  on  the  7th  or  8th,  and  at  Vienna 
on  the  14th  or  15th. 

646.  Franlfurt,  November  9. — .  .  .  Here  lie  the 
most  mischievous  Jacobins  at  my  feet,  all  full  of  excuses 
and  protestations.  During  my  journey,  I  visited  no 
less  than  five  Universities :  Leipzig,  Halle,  Gottingen, 
Marburg,  and  Giessen.  In  Halle  I  dined  on  October  18 
under  the  same  roof  with  a  hundred  and  fifty  students, 
who  were  celebrating  the  battle  of  Leipzig,  and  I  every- 
where received  nothing  but  marks  of  respect.  When  I 
was  getting  into  the  carriage  on  leaving  Halle,  all  the 
hundred  and  fifty  students  followed  me  with  uncovered 
heads  and  loud  cheers.  The  whole  day  I  had  a  crowd 
of  men  under  my  windows,  and  wherever  I  go,  joyful 
cries  accompany  me.  If  these  people  are  asked  what 
they  are  there  for,  they  answer :  '  We  want  to  see  him.' 
It  is  the  Italian  business  which  has  gained  me  this 
kind  of  notoriety  in  Germany.  Inquisitive  people  want 
to  see  what  the  man  looks  like  who  made  up  his  mind 
that  the  Carbonari  were  simply  a  number  of  ragamuffins, 
and  cannot  understand  how  he  managed  to  solve  this 
easy  problem.  The  people  hereabouts  are  good  but 
childish.  ...  In  Eussia,  and  in  the  whole  Eussian  dip- 
lomacy with  foreign  countries,  there  are  two  parties, 
which  are  quite  openly  designated  by  the  names  Metter- 
nich  and  Capo  d'lstria.  This  is  not  altogether  flattering. 
These  two  parties  detest  each  other,  and  are  in  opposition 
to  one  another,  like  the  Eight  and  Left  sides  in  France. 
As  the  Emperor  Alexander  is  a  Metternich,  the  party 
is  a  respectable  one ;  the  others  may  be  left  to  their 
fate. 

...  I  shall  start  to-morrow,  arrive    at  Wurzburg 
on  the  10th,  stay  the  night  of  the  11th  at  NUrnberg, 


512     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICHS   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

on  the  12tli  at  Eegensbiirg,  the  13th  at  Scharding,  and 
arrive  at  Vienna  on  the  15th. 

646.  Vienna,  December  31. — A  happy  hour  is  not 
only  good  because  it  is  happy  (a  thing  good  in  and  for 
itself),  but  also  because  it  strengthens  the  mind.  This 
reminds  me  of  a  saying  of  Napoleon's.  During  one  of 
our  long  conversations  we  spoke  of  the  time  just  past ; 
suddenly  he  cried,  '  Ah  I  vous  ne  savez  pas  quelle  puis- 
sance est  le  bonheur !  Lui  seul  donne  dii  courage.  Ne 
pas  oser,  cest  ne  rien  /aire  qui  vaille,  et  on  n'ose  jamais 
qiia  la  suite  du  bonheur.  Le  malheur  affaisse  et  fietrit 
rdme,  et  des  lors  on  ne  fait  rien  de  bon.'  .  .  . 

I  now  feel  as  lonely  as  a  dweller  in  the  desert ; 
nothing  makes  me  smile,  and  nothing  occupies  me  except 
what  wearies  me.  Follies  are  intolerable  to  me  ;  words 
without  thought  are  hateful ;  mere  good  nature  is  like 
stagnant  water :  and  this  is  the  picture  of  what  people 
here  call  society.  Words,  nothing  but  words  ;  of  all  I 
hear  nothing  is  to  be  preserved — the  best  thing  is  to 
forget  the  sound  of  them.  If  then  I  ask  myself  when 
there  will  be  a  conclusion  of  all  this,  and  find  that 
apparently  it  will  continue  till  the  end  of  all  things,  I 
feel  a  pressure  on  mind  and  heart  which  is  difficult  to 
describe.  Certain  it  is  that  the  emptiness  of  men 
increases  in  proportion  to  the  loftiness  of  their  position. 
If  I  could  lose  myself  in  what  makes  so  many  other  men 
happy,  perhaps  my  moral  position  would  be  different.  .  .  . 
It  is  striking  midnight,  and  the  year  1821  is  no 
more  !  Three  hundred  and  sixty-five  days  are  gone  in 
a  second  of  time.  We  stand  at  the  entrance  to  a  new 
era  like  a  new-born  child.  May  we  hope  that  fortune 
will  favour  us,  and  that  the  cutting  of  the  teeth — the 
first  business  the  child  has  to  go  through — will  be 
gone  through  successfully. 


513 


THE  EXPENSE  OF  THE  NEAPOLITAN  EXPEDI- 
TION, AND  FUNDAMENTAL  PRINCIPLES  FOR 
THE  ORGANISATION  OF  NAPLES  AND  THE 
RESTORATION  OF  ORDER. 

547.  Metternicli  to  Stadion  (Letter),  Laybacli,  March  10,  1821. 

547.  I  now  reply  to  two  important  subjects  con- 
tained in  your  letter  ;  I  ought  to  have  alluded  to  them 
some  time  ago,  but  I  was  obliged  to  allow  the  storm  to 
pass  over  before  I  could  write  to  you. 

/.  Financial  part  of  the  Expedition  against  Naples. 

This  question  has  something  of  the  same  character 
as  all  that  concerns  this  grave  enterprise.  It  touches 
at  once  on  the  past,  the  present,  and  the  future. 

In  the  financial  question  the  past  cannot  be  regu- 
lated by  the  present ;  it  is  therefore  necessary  not  to 
be  deluded  about  the  future,  thus  avoiding  false  calcu- 
lations, as  deplorable  in  finance  as  in  everything  else. 
We  have  incurred,  and  are  incurring,  great  expenses. 
It  may  perhaps  be  necessary  still  to  continue  them,  but 
nothing  is  voluntary  in  these  expenses,  and  they  cannot 
appear  so  to  any  man  endowed  with  good  common 
sense. 

The  first  question  of  all,  which  must  be  at  once  seen 
to  be  so,  is  this  :  shall  we,  or  can  we,  abandon  the  revo- 
lution of  Naples  to  itself,  to  its  own  remedies  (for  every 
revolution,  as  well  as  every  evil,  carries  in  itself  its  own 
VOL.  III.  L  L    . 


614    EXPENSES  OF  NEAPOLITAN  REVOLUTION. 

punisliment),  or  must  we  not  ratiier  erect  a  substantial 
barrier  against  it  ? 

The  solution  of  this  alternative  cannot  be  doubtful. 
"We  can  deplore  the  revolution  in  Spain,  and  abandon 
it  to  itself ;  but  it  is  otherwise  with  the  Spanish 
revolution  transplanted  to  the  soil  of  Naples.  Its 
triumph  in  the  Italian  peninsula  would  have  been  much 
more  swift  than  its  repression  could  have  been,  or  than 
the  punishment  which  it  must  bring  upon  itself. 

We  were  therefore  obliged  to  call  to  our  aid  con- 
siderable material  means.  Our  finances  were  heavily 
strained.  None  of  this  expenditure  was  unnecessary  ; 
it  was,  on  the  contrary,  imposed  by  the  first  of  neces- 
sities— that  of  existence. 

My  duty  is  to  impose  as  few  burdens  as  possible 
on  our  finances,  and  to  endeavour  at  the  same  time  to 
make  these  expenses,  as  far  as  possible,  mere  advances. 
This  is  what  I  aim  at,  while  making  a  calculation  which 
is  both  financial  and  political. 

As  a  financial  calculation,  I  prefer  the  certain  to  the 
uncertain,  and  I  never  like  to  flatter  myself  with  the 
impossible.  As  a  pohtical  calculation,  I  have  been 
able  to  examine  the  real  state  of  affairs  at  Naples,  and 
have  endeavoured  to  avoid  any  plan  for  the  future 
founded  on  inevitable  evils. 

The  Neapolitan  revolution  has  utterly  destroyed  the 
finances  of  tlie  kino:dom.  It  has  been  broucrht  about 
in  part  by  the  blind  fiscal  system  of  M.  de'  Medici : 
seeing  in  the  State  administration  only  a  treasury,  he 
taxed  the  provinces  far  beyond  what  he  ought  to  have 
done,  and,  by  overstraining  his  bow,  has  broken  it. 

The  Kincf  told  me  he  had  seen  the  accounts  which 
were  .made  up  to  the  time  of  his  departure  from  Naples, 
and  the  revolution  had  not  only  swallowed  up  all  that 


METTERNICII   TO  STADION.  515 

remained  from  former  financial  operations,  but  it 
actually  cost  during  tlie  first  six  montlis  more  than 
forty  millions  of  ducats. 

Tlie  financial  future  of  Naples  necessarily  has  two 
burdens — the  maintenance  of  the  army  of  occupation, 
and  the  consolidation  of  expenses  occasioned  l)y  the 
revolution.  It  remains  to  be  seen  if  to  tliese  two 
burdens  we  can  add  a  third — namely,  the  reimbursement 
of  expenses  incurred  by  Austria  for  armaments,  &c. 

My  conviction  has  been  that  by  attempting  too  much 
we  run  the  risk  of  accomplishing  nothing.  But,  this 
truth  demonstrated,  I  ask  if  it  is  not  practicable  to  make 
a  good  use  of  what  I  can  only  regard  as  an  impossi- 
bility. Our  aim  must  be  to  repress  the  revolution,  to 
consolidate  peace,  and  not  to  risk  new  disturbances. 
On  finding  that  the  Emperor  entu-ely  shared  my  views, 
the  declaration  was  made  in  tlie  protocol  which  you 
have  for  some  time  possessed.  You  will  have  seen  from 
this  protocol  that  we  sought  to  turn  the  financial  im- 
possibility into  a  political  bait.  We  have  declared 
loudly  that  we  demand  notliing,  and  we  have  attached 
a  recompense  or  a  punishment  for  the  nation  to  this 
same  nothing,  to  this  veritable  non- value  ;  thus  ensuring 
to  ourselves  the  chance  of  perhaps  being  able  to  bring 
in  under  the  name  of  punishment  that  which  we  have 
declined  as  a  recompense. 

I  enter  into  all  these  details,  my  dear  Count,  which 
your  able  mind  and  great  knowledge  of  business  and  of 
the  political  situation  would  lead  you  to  see  at  the 
time,  and  I  beg  you  not  to  attach  too  much  importance 
to  a  payment  which  I  consider  much  less  connected  with 
battles  and  other  reahties  of  war  than  with  financial 
])Ossibilities  or  impossibilities,  which  must  also  be 
strongly  influenced    b}?^    political    considerations  to  be 

L  L  2 


516  REORGANISATION   OF   NAPLES. 

decided  by  time  alone — that  is,  by  tlie  preservation  of 
peace  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples.  You  see  I  have  taken 
care  to  establish  alternatives  which  will  secure  to  us 
our  incontestable  rights.  It  will  be  wise  and  prudent 
to  take  care  that  they  are  rightly  used. 

//.  Future  Organisation  of  the  Kingdom  of  Naples. 

This  important  question  has  engrossed  my  attention 
from  the  very  day  I  heard  of  the  overthrow  of  the 
existing  order  of  things  at  Naples.  1  have  thought  the 
matter  over  with  extreme  care,  and  I  believe  I  have 
arrived  at  the  best  terms.  My  conscience,  at  least,  is 
easy  ;  I  only  hope  that  events  will  justify  my  wishes. 

If  you  now  speak  to  any  of  the  legislators  who  are 
to  be  found  at  the  corner  of  every  street  and  on  every 
bench  at  the  cafes,  they  reply,  without  hesitation, 
that  the  world  can  no  longer  do  without  the  represen- 
tative system.  My  conviction  is  that  it  will  never  do 
with  it ;  for  I  do  not  understand  by  progress,  over- 
turning oneself  and  everything  else,  getting  up  and 
falling  down  again. 

But  we  have  not  taken  into  consideration  for  Naples 
this  universal  recipe,  seeing  that  we  could  not  do  abroad 
what  we  constantly  refuse  to  do  at  home.  It  would 
have  been  hardly  prudent,  .on  the  other  hand,  to  patch 
up  what  has  just  been  destroyed.  We  have  called  to 
our  aid  the  principle  of  a  qualified  monarchy,  thus 
excluding  both  despotism  and  the  representative 
system. 

The  King  has  been  very  reluctant  to  acquiesce  in 
our  "views,  but  has  ended  by  doing  so,  and  even  by 
perceiving  that,  with  a  system  of  organisation  worthy 
of  the  name,  he  will  have  a  better  prospect  of  peace 
and  repo«^p.  than  by  a  return  to  a  com2:)lete  despotism, 


WETTEFvNICH   TO   STADION.  517 

the  dangers  of  wliicli  we  have  already  experienced  both 
in  Naples  and  in  Sicily. 

I  send  you  herewith  the  protocol,  or  rather  the 
addition  to  the  protocol,  which  contains  our  idea 
exactly  as  if  it  were  a  spontaneous  proposition  from  the 
King.  By  the  next  courier  I  will  send  you  a  more 
complete  statement  of  the  arrangements  I  have  men- 
tioned. You  will  see  that  it  describes  a  constitution 
which,  if  quite  monarchical,  is  none  the  less  worthy  of 
the  name,  for  it  is  not  desirable  to  apply  this  term  to 
the  representative  system  alone. 

How  is  the  thing  going  on  generally  ?  I  declare 
frankly  that  I  do  not  know.  Nothing  is  so  useless  as  to 
speculate  on  happy  chances,  and  nothing  is  more  diffi- 
cult than  to  prevent  unhappy  ones.  The  King  has  no 
credit  in  his  own  country,  but  he  is  beloved.  The  revo- 
lution has  been  forced  to  adopt  a  mild  character,  which 
is  to  be  deplored,  but  is  an  unavoidable  consequence  of 
our  armaments. 

The  object  of  the  Neapolitan  Liberals,  who  must  not 
be  confounded  with  the  Carbonari,  has  been  to  arrive  at 
a  representative  system  through  the  intervention  of  the 
latter.  From  Madrid  they  would  wish  to  get  to  Paris. 
We,  who  cannot  consent  to  that,  have  ourselves  neither 
one  nor  the  other. 

The  whole  depends,  therefore,  upon  the  blows  which 
are  struck.  If  they  are  decisive,  the  thing  is  done  ;  if 
they  are  not,  it  will  drag  on  ;  if  they  fall  upon  us,  the 
world  will  be  turned  upside  down.  Then  will  happen 
what  would  have  happened  if  we  had  done  nothing,  for 
Italy  will  go  to  the  devil,  and  with  her  France  and  Ger- 
many, just  as  they  would  have  done  if  we  had  re- 
mained neutral  spectators  of  the  revolution  at  Naples. 

If  we  are  successful,  a  great  example  will  have  been 


518  KEORGANISATION   OF   NAPLES. 

given  to  the  world,  were  it  only  for  the  one  fact  that  the 
inviolability  of  revolutions  will  have  been  shown  to  be  a 
thoroughly  false  claim,  although  prodigiously  convenient 
to  the  madmen,  fools,  blockheads,  and  weaklings  who 
advance  it.  What  a  frightful  hst  I  place  before  you 
there,  my  dear  Count  I 


519 


THE  NEAPOLITAN,  PIEDMONTESE,  AND   GREER 

INSURRECTION, 

548.  Metternich  to  Rechberg  (Letter),  Laybach,  March  25,  1821. 

548.  Events  succeed  each  other  with  such  rapidity 
in  Italy  that  we  may  hope  this  beautiful  portion  of 
Europe  will  not  submit  to  the  yoke  of  the  revolutionists, 
notwithstanding  the  activity  of  their  criminal  efforts.  If 
they  will  only  run  their  heads  against  the  energy  and 
wisdom  of  our  measures,  this  last  crisis,  alarming  as  it 
was  by  its  terrible  symptoms,  will  turn  against  those 
who  have  provoked  it,  and  will  rally  the  numerous  body 
of  honest  men  round  the  legitimate  Governments,  which 
are,  I  hope,  convinced  that,  by  following  a  consistent  and 
determined  course,  it  is  still  possible  to  suppress  that 
spirit  of  faction  which  threatens  society  with  total  sub- 
version. 

Thinking  that  it  must  be  of  the  greatest  importance 
for  your  Court  to  be  exactly  informed  of  the  real  situ- 
ation of  affairs  in  Italy,  of  the  dispositions  of  the  two 
Emperors,  who  are,  happily,  still  together  here,  and  of 
the  result  of  the  first  measures  which  they  have  adopted, 
I  do  not  hesitate  to  despatch  the  present  courier  to  your 
Excellency,  and  send  by  him  a  short  but  exact  account 
of  our  position. 

You  will  have  been  informed,  sir,  of  the  success  of 
General  Frimont's  army,  of  the  occupation  of  the  pro- 
vince of  the  Abruzzi,  so  important  in  a  military  point  of 


520      NEAPOLITAN   AND   PIEDMONTESE   INSURRECTION. 

view,  of  the  total  disorganisation  of  General  Pepe's  army^ 
and  of  the  way  in  which  our  troops  have  been  every- 
w^here  received  by  the  inhabitants.  These  first  results 
leave  us  in  no  doubt  as  to  the  success  of  the  enterprise, 
and  the  news  which  have  since  arrived  from  the  head- 
quarters of  the  army  fully  justify  our  hope.  Sora, 
defended  by  General  De  Concilj,  the  Quiroga  of  Naples, 
was  carried  by  our  troops  after  a  very  feeble  resist- 
ance. General  Frimont  passed  the  Garigliano  with  his 
army,  and  bore  towards  San  Germano,  to  attack  that 
position,  which  it  was  said  the  Neapolitans  had  rendered 
impregnable.  A  detachment  sent  by  the  general-in- 
chief  to  reconnoitre  found  it  abandoned.  Thus  our  army 
marches  on  without  being  able  to  meet  the  enemy,  who 
is  nowhere  to  be  found ;  but  our  march  is  so  rapid  that 
the  general  still  hopes  to  overtake  and  defeat  them  if 
they  concentrate  their  forces. 

Whilst  the  army  was  marching  on  San  Germano, 
General  Fardella,  sent  by  the  Duke  of  Calabria  to  the 
King,  his  father,  bearing  messages  of  respect  and  sub- 
mission, passed  by  the  Velletri  route  on  his  way  to  Rome  • 
and  Florence.  We  are  still  ignorant  of  the  details  of 
this  mission,  which  has,  however,  had  no  influence  on 
the  progress  and  operations  of  the  army. 

These  details,  which  are  indubitable,  will  convince 
your  Excellency  that  the  Naples  expedition  is  on  the 
point  of  being  terminated,  and  that  a  fortnight's  cam- 
paign will  have  sufficed  to  throw  down  tliis  military 
erection  with  which  they  have  tried  for  the  last  six 
months  to  alarm  the  whole  of  Europe.  This  result,  and 
still  more  the  reception  given  by  the  people  to  our 
army,  at  least  proves  that  the  Neapohtan  nation  has  no 
sympathy  with  the  revolution,  which  has  precipitated 
that   once  happy  country  into  an  abyss  of  misfortune, 


METTERNICH   TO   EECIiBERG.  521 

and  that  this  revohition  is  entirely  the  work  of  certain 
criminal  sects,  and  of  a  few  ambitious  military  men. 

If  the  insurrection  of  Piedmont  was  at  first  of  a  more 
alarming  character,  and  at  the  time  it  broke  out  made 
us  fear  a  powerful  and  dangerous  diversion  in  favour  of 
the  revolutionary  cause,  the  progress  of  events  in  that 
country  during  the  last  eight  days  permits  us  to  hope 
now  that  the  danger  will  be  more  readily  exorcised  than 
we  had  dared  to  flatter  ourselves.  The  plan  of  the 
conspirators — which  was  to  induce  the  King  to  proclaim 
a  constitution,  and  to  declare  himself  for  the  Neapolitan 
cause  against  Austria^ — has  been  defeated  by  the  abdir 
cation  of  the  King.  The  Prince  de  Carignan,*  who, 
owing  to  the  circumstance  that  the  Duke  de  Gene  vols  f 
was  absent,  was  appointed  to  the  Regency  of  the  king- 
dom, very  soon  experienced  all  the  awkwardness  of  the 
situation.  Forced  to  promise  and  swear  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  Cortes,  and  to  create  a  provisional  revolu- 
tionary junta  (which  had  not  entered  into  his  j^lans,  nor 
into  those  of  any  of  the  ambitious  officers  about  him), 
this  Prince  wrote  to  the  Duke  de  Genevois,  entreating 
him  to  return  and  take  the  reins  of  government,  which 
had  devolved  upon  him  by  the  abdication  of  the  King. 
The  Duke  de  Genevois,  who  was  then  at  Modena,  not 
only  refused  to  listen  to  the  entreaties  of  the  Prince  de 
Carignan,  but  replied  to  them  by  an  energetic  pro- 
clamation. He  wrote  at  the  same  time  to  the  two  Em- 
perors to  beg  their  advice  and  their  support.  The  reply 
of  the  two  august  sovereigns  was  what  it  ought  to  be 
under  the  circumstances — cautious,  wise,  noble,  and  in 
every  way  suited  to  the  principles  they  profess.  They 
decided  at  the  same  time  to  send  a  courier  to  their 

*  Afterwards  King  Charles  Albert. — Ed. 

t  Ascended  the  thi-one  under  the  title  of  Charles  Felix. — Ed. 


522  GREEK   INSURRECTION. 

Ministers  at  Turin,  witli  orders  to  present  himself  to 
the  Prince  de  Carignan,  and  give  him  a  picture  of 
the  woes  which  would  soon  overtake  the  country  over 
which  he  was  one  day  to  reign,  and  begging  him  seriously 
to  consider  his  own  situation,  appealing  to  his  feelings 
and  his  duty  as  the  first  Prince  of  the  Blood  to  in- 
duce him  to  play,  on  this  important  occasion,  the  only 
becoming  part — that  of  making  the  soldiers  who  had 
been  led  away  by  the  factious  return  to  their  duty,  thus 
restoring  tranquillity  to  his  country.  These  counsels 
were  accompanied  by  the  warning  that  the  two  Em- 
perors would  never  recognise  the  revolution.  We  are 
still  ignorant  of  the  result  of  this  step,  but  we  know  by 
the  news  which  we  receive  daily  from  Milan  that  the 
progress  of  the  revolution  is  very  uncertain,  that  the 
perplexities  of  the  Prince  de  Carignan  are  increasing, 
that  Alessandria  has  become  the  rallying  point  of  tlie 
revolutionists  in  the  anarchical  sense  of  the  word,  that 
Genoa  and  No  vara  still  hold  out  for  the  King,  that  many 
regiments  are  faithful,  tliat  others  have  dispersed  and 
returned  to  their  homes,  that  the  mass  of  the  people  are 
quiet  and  passive,  that  the  King  is  generally  regretted, 
and  that  there  is  no  national  movement  in  the  country. 
WaitintT  tlie  issue  of  this  crisis,  the  Count  de  Bubna, 
Commandant-General  of  Lombardy,  is  preparing  to 
overawe  the  factious  ;  and,  besides  the  garrisons  of  the 
strong  places,  he  has  an  army  already  more  than  suffi- 
cient to  defend  our  Italian  provinces,  and  which  in- 
creases daily.  Milan  enjoys  the  most  perfect  tran- 
quillity, and  public  opinion  expresses  itself  in  the  most 
satisfactory  manner  in  favour  of  the  Government. 

A  new  event  which  must  at  this  time  of  general 
commotion  powerfully  contribute  to  agitate  men's  minds 
is  the  insurrection  of  the  Greeks  in  the  Ottoman  Empire. 


METTERNICII   TO    RECIIBERG.  523 

The  Emperor  Alexander  received  all  the  particulars  by 
a  courier  who  arrived  here  on  the  19th,  and  they  have 
been  confirmed  by  our  agents. 

Prince  Ypsilanti,  major-general  in  the  Eussian  ser- 
vice, has  put  himself  at  the  head  of  this  insurrection, 
and  Prince  Soutzo,  Hospodar  of  Moldavia,  has  declared 
for  it,  confessing  himself  that  it  is  the  work  of  a  secret 
society,  which  has  been  preparing  the  materials  for  two 
years.  This  society  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  Carbonari, 
and  we  have  for  some  time  warned  the  Ottoman  Govern- 
ment of  it,  but  they  attached  no  importance  to  its 
existence. 

In  this  fresh  emergency,  the  Emperor  Alexander  has 
given  proof  of  his  noble  and  loyal  character  ;  his  views 
and  principles  entirely  agree  with  those  of  the  Emperor 
my  august  master.  In  a  council  which  was  held  in  the 
presence  of  their  Majesties,  it  was  decided  '  that  the 
event  should  be  left  to  itself.'  The  Emperor  Alexander 
cashiers  and  removes  from  his  army  all  the  military 
Greeks  who  take  part  in  the  insurrection ;  and  refuses 
all  support  and  help  to  the  Greek  insurgents. 

The  two  monarchs  have  simultaneously  declared  at 
Constantinople  that,  faithful  to  the  principles  which 
they  have  publicly  announced,  they  will  never  support 
the  enemies  of  public  order  ;  that  they  will  never  lend 
any  help  to  the  Greek  insurgents  ;  that,  on  the  other 
hand,  they  leave  to  the  Porte  itself  the  task  of  watching 
over  its  own  safety.  As  it  has  remained  up  to  this 
time  estranged  from  all  the  affairs  of  Europe,  we  do  not 
feel  called  upon  to  interfere  in  its  affairs. 

These  determinations  of  the  sovereigns  will  imme- 
diately be  made  public.  In  the  meantime  I  pray  your 
Excellency  to  lay  them,  as  well  as  the  contents  of  the 
present  despatch,  before   the   King,  hoping  his  Majesty 


524  END   OF   THE   NAPLES   INSURRECTION. 

will  see  in  them  good  cause  for  tranquillity.  In  this 
hope  I  send  the  courier  who  will  have  the  honour  to 
place  it  in  your  hands. 

Metternich  to  Stadion,  Laybach,  March  26,  1821. 

649.  The  Naples  affair  is  at  an  end.  I  hope  to  be 
able  to  send  a  courier  to  Vienna  in  two  or  three  days, 
to  have  the  Te  Deum  sung  and  a  hundred  and  one  guns 
fired. 

The  revolt  in  Piedmont  fares  badly  for  a  revolu- 
tion. I  will  send  to  Vienna  to-morrow  unequivocal 
proofs  that  its  principal  champion,  the  Prince  de  Carig- 
nan,  does  nothing  but  weep.  The  country  does  not 
wish  to  rise,  and  all  that  is  required  now,  in  order  to 
put  down  the  small  number  of  the  lower  orders  who 
are  in  favour  of  it,  is  a  decisive  stroke  on  the  part  of 
one  or  other  of  the  general  officers,  devoted  to  the  King, 
who  have  put  themselves  en  rapport  with  the  Duke  de 
Genevois.  In  revolutionary  crises,  however,  one  can 
never  found  anything  on  data,  often  put  forth  one  day 
and  contradicted  the  next.  I  therefore  confine  myself 
to  facts  on  which  positive  calculations  may  be  founded. 

If  order  is  restored  in  Piedmont  it  will  be  by  its 
own  efforts,  and  that  will  be  an  immense  gain.  If  it 
does  not  return  to  duty  of  itself,  it  must  fall  into  anarchy, 
and  it  is  not  in  a  state  to  dream  of  a  military  aggres- 
sion on  our  provinces.  With  the  exception  of  the 
army,  which  has  remained  faithful  to  the  King,  and 
which  is  at  Genoa  and  Novara,  the  rest  is  disbanded, 
and  the  revolutionists  cannot  reassemble  eight  thousand 
men  capable  of  marching.  They  recruit  legions,  but 
they  are  composed  of  students  and  bandits.  Bubna  is 
in  great  force.  He  could  at  the  present  moment  dis- 
pose of  ten  thousand  men  of  Frimont's  army  ;  but  he 


METTERNICH   TO   STADION.  525 

will  not  concentrate  them  till  we  are  firmly  established 
at  Naples. 

There  are  two  contingencies  ;  either  the  Eussian 
army  is  useless,  or  it  is  necessary.  In  the  first  case,  it 
will  turn  back  immediately,  and  perhaps  will  not  even 
cross  the  frontier,  if  in  a  few  days  we  hear  that  Pied- 
mont has  worked  its  own  cure.  If  the  revolution  spreads 
over  the  whole  of  Italy,  the  Kussians  will  do  no  harm, 
and  the  very  news  of  the  possibility  of  their  arrival 
wiU  prevent  mere  amateurs  from  rising. 

We  risk  nothing  by'declaring  war  on  Piedmont,  for 
it  declared  war  upon  us  by  making  a  revolution.  The 
Junta  of  Alessandria  has  formally  declared  war  against 
Austria,  and  the  revolution  at  Turin  had  no  other  means 
of  doing  so  than  by  announcing  that  it  would  make  a 
conquest  of  Milan.  .  ■    . 

For  the  rest,  this  revolution  is  nothing  but  a  sudden 
blow  on  the  part  of  some  hot-headed  men,  supported 
by  the  Committee  of  Paris  with  the  intention  of  helping 
Naples.  But  the  inconceivable  cowardice  of  the  Nea- 
politans, and  the  masterly  and  prompt  operations  of 
our  army,  have  defeated  this  plan.  The  only  way  in 
which  they  could  keep  the  party  together  at  Turin  was 
by  publicly  asserting  that  all  our  bulletins  were  false, 
and  that  the  Neapolitans  were  driving  us  towards 
the  Po. 

As  for  the  Greek  revolution — let  it  alone.  I  answer 
for  it  that  the  Emperor  Alexander  has  as  little  to  do 
with  that  now  as  with  the  revolution  in  Piedmont.  You 
may  have  some  difficulty  in  believing  this,  but  it  is  none 
the  less  true,  and  I  will  send  you  proofs  by  to-morrow's 
courier.  This  affair  must  be  looked  upon  as  placed 
beyond  the  pale  of  civiHsation ;  it  wiU  end,  I  believe, 
badly  for  the  Greeks,  who  depended  on  a  support  which 


526  END   OF   THE   INSURRECTIONS. 

failed  them  the  very  day  they  took  up  arms.  It  is  the 
same  with  the  Neapohtans,  who  beheved  that  Eussia 
would  be,  if  not  for  them,  at  least  against  us.  You  see 
the  advantage  of  a  good  reputation  in  politics. 

The  question  is  at  present  occupying  the  undivided 
attention  of  France.    The  Government  does  not  support, 
and  never  will  support,  the  Piedmontese.     The  factious 
may  do  so  ;  but  they  will  not  be   able  to  accomplish 
much,  unless  indeed  they  overthrow  the  King  and  the 
Charter.     If  this  should  take  place — that  is  to  say,  if 
France  returns  to   1793 — then  *we   shall  certainly   do 
nothing  but  come  home   and  consider  how  to  save  our- 
selves.    Any  retrograde  movement  in  Italy  in  the  pre- 
sent position  of  affairs,  would  be  to  make  a  revolution 
ourselves  in  the  whole  of  the  Peninsula  ;  and  how  long 
could  we  keep  our  Italian  provinces  in   such    a   con 
tincrencv  ? 

'  The  world  is  on  the  eve  of  salvation  or  on  the 
brink  of  ruin.  It  looks,  however,  as  if  the  dawn  of  a 
better  day  were  beginning  to  break.  The  success  of  the 
Naples  affair  may  bring  a  period  of  repose.  It  will  have 
cost  much,  but  I  have  the  conviction  now,  as  I  have 
had  all  along,  that  if  we  had  acted  differently,  we 
should  have  been  smothered  in  our  beds. 

What  gives  me  great  pleasure  is  the  perfect  way  in 
which  all  our  people  have  behaved  in  Italy.  The  armies 
of  Bubna  and  Strassoldo  deserve  the  fairest  pages  in  our 
history. 

Metternich  to  Rechherg  [Letter),  Lay  bach,  March  31, 1821. 

550.  I  send  you,  my  dear  Count,  the  last  bulletin 
from  the  army  at  Naples. 

A  campaign  of  thirteen  days  has  sufficed  to  show 
plainly  the  baseness  of  the  Neapolitan  Revolution.     A 


METTERNICH  TO   RECHBERG.  527 

great  work  of  iniquity  was  scattered  like  dust  as  soon 
as  the  first  attack  was  made  ;  and  as  for  the  embel- 
lishments of  patriotism,  where  is  that  national  enthu- 
siasm? Where  are  those  patriotic  phalanxes?  Where 
the  hatred  to  a  return  to  order  ?  Are  the  Neapohtans 
to  be  the  interpreters  of  their  own  thoughts,  or  have 
the  scoundrels  in  Parliament  truly  expressed  them  ? 

Heaven  seems  to  Avill  that  the  world  should  not  be 
lost,  and  has  protected  our  great  enterprise.  Wise  men 
have  followed  it  with  their  good  wishes  ;  enlightened 
Governments  have  done  the  same.  We  asked  no  more 
from  them.  The  particulars  in  our  possession  prove  to 
the  most  bhnd  that,  in  spite  of  what  is  said  on  the  spot, 
even  by  the  wisest  and  most  sober-minded  men,  yet  the 
revolution  was  begun  quite  independently  of  the  people 
themselves.  It  is  the  same  everywhere.  It  is  there- 
fore necessary  to  protect  the  people  against  the  attacks 
of  their  fanatical  enemies  —  their  only  enemies,  those 
who  deceive  the  people  by  directing  all  their  venom 
against  the  Governments. 

We  shall  finish  the  Piedmontese  affair  as  we  did  the 
Neapolitan.  Another  French  Eevolution  only  could  in- 
terpose grave — perhaps  insurmountable — obstacles  to 
this. second  enterprise. 

All  the  venom  is  at  present  on  the  surface.  The 
cure  will  be  so  much  the  more  radical ;  and  what  we 
began  together  in  July  1819,  can  be  finished  with  the 
help  of  God  and  for  the  salvation  of  the  world  in  1821. 
It  is  therefore  from  Carlsbad  that  the  era  of  salvation 
must  be  dated. 


528 


CO-OPERATION  OF  THE  RUSSIAN  ARMY. 

551.  Metternich  to  Stadion  (Letter),  Laybach,  April  21  and  22,  1821. 

551.  Baron  StUrmer  will  have  told  you,  my  dear 
Count,  of  the  reasons  for  detaming  the  Eussian  army  on 
the  frontiers.  The  orders  are  issued,  and  you  will  not 
see  a  Eussian  soldier.  If  I  had  not  been  able  to  make 
them  retire  even  as  we  made  them  advance,  do  you 
think  we  should  have  had  them  put  in  motion  ? 

I  received  by  yesterday's  courier  your  letter  of 
April  17.  I  tell  you  frankly,  my  dear  Count,  that  it 
has  given  me  pain.  If  you,  knowing  the  principles 
which  have  directed  our  steps  for  years,  knowing  every 
shade  of  our  conduct  for  the  last  nine  months,  knowing 
the  dangers  to  which  all  society  is  exposed  in  a  time  of 
folly — if  you,  my  dear  Count,  can  reproach  me  with  a 
Eussian  invasion,  what  means  of  safety  remains  to  the 
world  ?  I  confess  that  if  it  were  in  my  nature  to  be 
disheartened,  I  should  say  to  myself:  How  people  seek 
to  conjure  up  the  perils  which  threaten  us  ! 

Success,  doubtless  quite  unexpected  by  the  knaves, 
has  crowned  our  efforts.  This  success  does  not  astonish 
me,  for  the  simple  reason  that  I  knew  both  the  means 
of  attack  and  the  means  of  defence.  The  Piedmontese 
affair  has  not  cast  me  down,  for  the  equally  simple 
reason  that  it  had  entered  into  my  calculations  as  a 
thing  not  only  possible,  but  even  probable. 

The  proof  that  such  was  the  case  is  found  in  the 
continual  reinforcements  which  I  was  the  first  to  beg 


METTERNICH   TO   STADION.  529 

the  Emperor  to  send  into  tlie  Italian  provinces,  and  in 
the  threat  of  the  arrival  of  the  Eussian  armies,  contained 
in  our  declaration  against  Naples.  It  was  not  alone  to 
bring  this  country  to  reason  that  we  had  need  of  more 
than  a  hundred  thousand  men,  and  the  assured  prospect 
of  foreign  support.  I  knew  for  certain  the  eflbrts 
made  by  the  faction  on  every  side. 

Now,  from  that  moment  it  became  necessary  either 
to  do  nothing  and  live  on  from  day  to  day.  or  to  take 
steps  in  the  right  direction  ;  and  I  do  not  beheve  anyone 
could  do  that  without  means  proportioned  to  the  diffi- 
culties. Among  these  means  I  placed  first  the  Austrian 
forces,  which  were  able  alone  to  complete  the  certain 
task,  and  to  avert  possibilities  ;  I  had  also  to  think  of 
destroying  Eussian  Liberalism,  and  proving  to  Europe 
that  henceforth  the  Eadicals  will  have  to  deal  with  the 
two  Powers  possessing  most  freedom  of  action. 

The  results  now  show  whether  my  calculations  were 
false.  Facts  alone  sj)eak  in  1821.  All  the  promises, 
all  the  speeches  of  the  Emperor  of  Eussia  would  have 
been  valueless  ;  but  his  setting  in  motion  some  hundred 
thousand  men,  their  effective  march,  the  expenditure  on 
them  of  ten  millions — these  are  facts.  The  command  to 
halt  is  another  fact  not  less  important ;  and  a  hundred 
and  twenty  thousand  men  placed  in  the  Eussian  pro- 
vinces nearest  to  our  frontiers,  with  orders  to  march  at 
the  first  request  of  Austria,  is  certainly  a  third  fact 
which  will  prevent  these  disturbers  from  counting  so 
readily  on  the  Emperor  Alexander  in  future. 

The  conduct  of  Bubna  is  beyond  all  praise.  In 
order  to  be  advantageous  and  useful,  it  was  necessary 
that  he  should  have  troops  at  his  disposal,  and  above 
all  that  he  should  have  unlimited  freedom  of  action. 
You,  who  know  as  well  as  I  do,  and  perhaps  better,  the 
VOL.  III.  M  M 


530  CO-OPERATION  OF  EUSSIA. 

way  tilings  are  generally  managed,  will  see  that  the 
Emperor  has  done  a  good  and  graceful  thing,  by  giving 
the  commander  of  the  province  the  power  of  simply 
consulting  himself  and  the  circumstances  of  the  moment, 
so  as  to  act  unhesitatingly  according  to  his  own  con- 
victions and  experience. 

Immense  good  ensues  from  this  ;  there  is  now  just  a 
possibility  of  our  surviving.  We  must  not  deceive 
ourselves  ;  we  are  not  a  single  step  beyond  the  possi- 
bility. With  judgment,  with  a  calm  and  firm  step, 
with  great  rectitude  and  agreement  of  thought  and 
action,  good  may  yet  be  done  in  Europe.  But  the 
evil  has  arrived  at  a  prodigious  height.  Public  opinion 
is  absolutely  diseased,  and  since  a  single  fact  is  sufficient 
to  prove  this,  I  will  mention  the  state  of  our  own 
capital.  Be  sure  that  at  Vienna,  as  at  Paris,  Berhn, 
London,  as  in  the  whole  of  Germany  and  Italy,  in 
Eussia  as  well  as  America,  our  triumphs  are  rated  as 
so  many  crimes,  our  conceptions  as  so  many  errors, 
and  our  views  as  criminal  folhes. 

I  possess  some  courage  ;  I  think  I  have  shown  a 
great  deal  in  the  course  of  the  last  nine  months,  for  it 
was  certainly  required  in  order  to  take  upon  myself 
what  I  have  done,  and  that  with  a  full  knowledsfe  of 
the  state  of  things  as  well  as  the  responsibility  ;  but 
there  is  nothing  of  illusion  in  me.  I  know  how  to 
appreciate  all  the  good  which  has  been  accomplished ; 
the  gain  is  immense,  because  it  has  brought  to  light 
a  number  of  truths ;  a  phantasmagoria  such  as  the 
world  has  perhaps  never  seen  has  been  destroyed ; 
the  spell  is  broken.  Yet  everything  remains  to  be 
done.  It  is  we  who  will  occupy  the  strongholds  of 
Novara  and  Alessandria. 

The  Emperor  Alexander  is  averse  to  do  tliis,  and 


METTERNICH   TO   STADION.  531 

his  reasons  are  weighty.  I  will  tell  you  the  particulars 
by  word  of  mouth  ;  our  pubhc  will  charge  me  anew 
wdth  folly  or  stupidity  for  being  annoyed  that  we  have 
to  take  upon  ourselves  this  ungrateful  task,  which  in 
its  eyes  will  be  a  monument  of  glory  !  The  public 
knows  not  what  it  says,  for  it  is  ignorant  of  the  true 
state  of  the  affair.  The  finances  will  profit,  for  the 
garrisons  beyond  the  Ticino  will  be  at  the  expense  of 
the  Sardinians,  although  they  can  reckon  on  as  many 
forces  in  Lombardy  which  must  remain  to  us.  No 
matter ;  the  thing  is  a  positive  evil,  and  it  will  require 
a  great  deal  of  skill  to  prevent  its  turning  into  an  active 
evil  for  the  whole  of  Europe. 

I  suppose  the  Emperor  will  return  to  Vienna  about 
the  middle  of  May.  We  are  still  detained  here  by  the 
arrangements  which  have  to  be  made  with  the  two 
Kings  of  Sardinia. 

The  King  who  has  abdicated  must  be  replaced  on 
the  throne.  This  affair  must  be  promptly  decided,  or 
Piedmont  will  once  more  be  ruined ;  we  gain  by  the 
distance  more  than  five  days,  and  five  days  are  much  in 
revolutionary  times. 

Vincent  and  Pozzo  will  arrive  here  immediately  ; 
we  shall  send  them  on  to  Paris,  for  that  country  must 
not  be  abandoned  to  the  folly  of  its  Government,  which 
is  as  feeble  as  it  is  badly  disj^osed. 

Now  I  have  made  a  real  profession  of  faith.  I  do 
not  wish,  my  dear  Count,  that  you  should  regard  differ- 
ently from  myself  a  situation  which  must  decide  the 
fife  or  death  of  the  monarchy. 

For  the  rest,  I  am  much  fatigued  with  my  labours, 
and  I  am  at  present  in  the  condition  of  a  general  who 
feels  the  need  of  repose  just  when  the  public  are  waking 
up  to  judge  of  his  operations. 

M  M  2 


532  CO-OPEEATION   OF   RUSSIA. 

April  22. — The  courier  was  just  starting,  -when  I 
received  your  letter  of  April  18.  I  must  reply  to  you 
in  a  few  words,  my  dear  Count,  for  to  go  thoroughly 
into  the  subject  will  require  some  hours  of  conversation, 
and  certainly  I  could  not  employ  them  more  usefully. 

The  result  of  our  conversation,  which  will  simply 
be  an  examination  of  the  present  situation,  as  I  know  it 
and  as  it  can  only  be  known  here — for  it  is  a  moral 
and  material  imj^ossibility  that,  away  from  here,  nay, 
even  beyond  a  circle  of  four  or  five  persons,  it  can 
be  known  or  even  comprehended — the  result  I  say, 
will  make  you  judge  of  the  position  quite  differently 
from  what  is  possible  to  you  at  present. 

I  will  content  myself  with  placing  before  you  the 
following  truths : — 

1st.  There  has  never  been  a  question  of  stationing 
a  single  Eussian  soldier  in  the  Austrian  monarchy. 

2nd.  Eussia  does  not  lead  us  ;  it  is  we  who  lead  the 
Emperor  Alexander,  for  many  very  evident  reasons. 
He  requires  to  be  advised,  now  he  has  lost  all  his 
advisers.  He  looks  upon  Capo  dTstria  as  a  leader  of  the 
Carbonari.  He  mistrusts  his  army,  his  ministers,  his 
nobility,  his  people.    In  such  a  situation  no  one  can  lead. 

8rd.  France  and  England,  far  from  being  on  good 
terms,  completely  distrust  each  other.  England  is 
entirely  with  us.  Do  not  judge  of  England  by  what 
Lord  Stewart  told  you ;  all  he  said  is  untrue.  He 
would  have  you  indignantly  oppose  the  march  of  a 
Eugsian  army  into  Piedmont ;  well,  his  Cabinet  demands 
it  w^ith  might  and  main,  for  it  judges  rightly,  and  fore- 
sees the  incalculable  complications  which  must  arise 
between  Austria  and  France  in  the  event  of  an  Austrian 
occupation. 

France  is  at  the  head  of  all  the  revolutionary  move- 


METTERNICir  TO   STADION.  533 

merits  in  Europe,  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  say  whicli 
does  most  harm  and  most  encourages  intrigues,  the 
Government  or  the  Jacobins.  They  both  wish  Europe 
to  be  revolutionised.  The  ministry  aim  at  the  intro- 
duction of  the  French  Charter  in  all  States  of  the  second 
order,  hoping  thereby  to  consolidate  themselves.  The 
Liberals  wish  for  the  anarchical  Constitution  of  1791,  so 
as  to  overthrow  the  dynasty  in  France.  Thus  the  Pied- 
montese  revolution  has  been  the  result  of  all  kinds  of 
efforts  on  the  part  of  the  Cabinet  and  the  French 
Liberals. 

4th.  Piedmont  could  not  exist  for  three  months 
without  a  foreign  army.  The  revolution  is  nowhere 
more  threatening  than  in  the  wdiole  of  Italy.  An  im- 
portant blow  has  been  struck  ;  some  dozens  of  its  chiefs 
have  fled.  But  the  revolution  is  still  there,  ready  to 
break  out  afresh,  and,  without  very  firm  and  prudent 
conduct,  we  shall  see  next  autumn  a  renewal  of  the 
scenes  we  have  just  come  through.  We  do  not  beheve 
the  whole  thing  is  over,  but  only  that  there  has  been 
a  great  defeat ;  the  difference  is  immense. 

Do  you  know  the  true,  the  only  reason  why  the 
Emperor  Alexander  objects  to  an  army,  even  of  ten 
thousand  men,  being  stationed  beyond  his  frontiers  ? 
Because  he  is  convinced  that  this  body  would  pass  over 
to  the  enemy.  So  much  have  the  liberal  efforts  of  the 
good  people  who  surround  this  Prince  Hberalised  the 
whole  army.  With  such  a  feehng  a  man  could  scarcely 
be  a  conqueror. 

All  that  I  now  tell  you  is  true,  thoroughly  true. 
Any  calculation  otherwise  founded  is  erroneous.  I  will 
answer  for  all  the  facts,  and  the  future  will  perhaps  but 
too  well  justify  the  exactness  of  my  information  and 
my  calculations. 


534  CO-OPERATION   OF   RUSSLV. 

What  is  the  right  thing  to  do  when  walking  in  the 
midst  of  darkness  and  confusion  ?  To  Hght  a  torch  and 
walk  steadily  and  firmly  by  its  Hght.  Do  not  trust  any 
other  hghts  ;  they  are  placed  expressly  for  your  de- 
struction, or  displayed  by  incendiaries  who  try  to  per- 
suade you  that  they  are  only  fireworks. 

A  few  hours  of  conversation  would  tell  you  more 
than  twenty  pages  in  writing.  The  only  thing  I  ask 
of  you  in  the  meantime  is  to  weigh  the  facts  already 
pointed  out:  and  our  material  successes  are  facts.  I  do 
not  speak  at  present  of  moral  successes :  these  have  yet 
to  be  waited  for,  and  they  are  much  more  difiicult  to 
attain  than  material  success. 


535 


RESULTS  OF  THE  CO^^GRESS  AT  LAYS  ACE* 

652.  Metternicli  to  the  Emperor  Alexander,  Layhacli,  May  C,  1821. 

552.  Before  the  separation  of  the  monarchs  and 
their  Cabinets,  may  I  be  permitted  to  place  in  the  hands 
of  your  Imperial  Majesty  one  word  of  gratitude  and 
homage  ?  Of  gratitude,  Sire,  for  you  deserve  it,  not  on 
my  part,  nor  on  that  of  Austria,  but  from  society  at 
large. 

You  must  do  me  the  justice  to  admit  that  I  dis- 
cerned long  ago  the  evil  which  has  been  lately  un- 
masked with  such  awful  intensity.  You  must  also 
remember.  Sire,  that,  although  I  knew  the  evil,  I  did  not 
despair  of  the  remedy.  This  remedy  has  begun  to  take 
effect ;  it  is  the  intimate  moral  union  between  your 
Imperial  Majesty  and  your  august  allies,  each  being 
free  in  his  actions.  The  merit.  Sire,  belongs  to  you  : 
for  your  situation  was  the  most  free,  and  certainly  not 
so  near  to  the  danger  as  that  of  the  other  monarchs. 
Your  Imperial  Majesty  has  done  an  immense  good  ; 
your  conscience  must  tell  you  so  ;  and  that  is  the  only 
recompense  which  a  good  man  earnestly  seeks  after  :  it 

*  The  monarchs  assembled  at  Laybach  were  the  Emperors  of  Austria  and 
Russia  and  the  King  of  Naples  ;  the  diplomatists — for  Austria,  Metternich, 
Vincent,  and  Gentz  ;  for  Russia,  Nesselrode,  Capo  d'Istria,  Pozzo  di  Borgo ; 
and  for  Prussia,  Ilardenherg  and  Bernstortt';  for  France,  De  la  Ferronays, 
Caraman,  and  Blacas ;  and  for  England,  Lords  Cknwilliam  and  Stewart, 
and  Sir  Robert  Gordon.  After  the  decision  of  the  three  northern  Powers 
in  favour  of  armed  intervention  in  Naples,  the  English  and  French  ambas- 
sadors took  no  fui'ther  part  in  the  Conferences. — Ed. 


536        RESULTS   OF   THE   CONGRESS   AT   LAYBACH. 

is  the  only  one  which  can  reach  the  man  placed  by 
providence  above  other  men. 

There  is  but  one  act  of  homage  which  I  consider 
worthy  of  your  Imperial  Majesty.  Placed  as  I  am 
between  the  Emperor,  my  master,  and  your  Imperial 
Majesty,  grave  duties  rest  upon  me.  Tlie  first  is  perhaps 
the  most  difficult — that  of  seeking  and  finding  the  truth. 
The  day  when  I  lose  confidence  in  my  own  calculations 
I  shall  regard  myself  as  guilty  in  the  eyes  of  my  master 
and  those  of  your  Imperial  Majesty.  My  homage.  Sire, 
must  simply  be  to  tell  you  all  my  thoughts. 

Society  would  have  been  irretrievably  lost  but  for 
the  measures  which  have  been  taken  durina;  the  last 
few  months.  These  measures  could  not  have  arrested 
its  fall  unless  they  had  rested  on  the  most  correct  prin- 
ciples. Such  being  the  case,  the  dawn  of  a  better  future 
begins  to  appear  :  the  day  will  succeed  if  we  continue 
to  walk  on  in  the  path  in  which  we  have  placed  our- 
selves. One  single  false  principle,  and  the  night  will  be 
upon  us,  and  chaos  will  succeed  that  night. 

There  are  two  means  of  enablinof  us  to  continue  in 
this  path  : — Eeciprocal  and  unrestrained  confidence,  and 
a  frank  understanding  of  the  princij)les  on  which  our 
conduct  must  be  grounded. 

This  confidence,  Sire,  is  what  the  mind  has  most 
difficulty  in  seizing.  It  has  been,  and  would  for  ever 
have  been,  an  insurmountable  difficulty,  if  Providence 
had  not  created  two  sovereigns  such  as  your  Imperial 
Majesty  and  the  Emperor  Francis.  You  know  each 
other  perfectly,  and  this  is  ever  necessary  to  a  good 
understanding. 

To  establish  for  the  future  that  perfect  agreement  of 
conduct  so  decisive  for  the  fate  of  Europe,  it  is  necessary 
to  lay  the  foundation  as  simply  as  possible  on  clear, 


METTERNICH   TO   EMPEROR   ALEXANDER.  537 

t 

precise  principles,  and  to  secure  their  application  by 
reciprocal  engagements  no  less  clear  and  precise.  A 
great  distance  sej)arates  us,  and  this  inconvenience  we 
must  remedy. 

I  will  now  state  the  principles,  and  point  out  the 
eno;ao:ements  to  be  made. 

I.  Pkinciples. 

It  is  demonstrated  that  a  vast  and  dann;erous  con- 
spiracy  has  since  1814  acquired  sufficient  strength  and 
means  of  action  to  enable  it  to  seize  upon  a  number  of 
places  in  the  public  administration.  This  conspu'acy 
was  less  evident  to  the  eyes  of  the  world  as  long  as  it 
did  not  court  discovery,  and  contented  itself  with  the 
domain  of  theory.  In  that  domain  nothing  is  surprising  : 
discussions,  pretensions,  contradictions  belong  to  it  by 
full  right.  From  the  day  that  I  saw  sound  doctrines 
attacked  with  impunity,  and  observed  that  they  ran  the 
risk  of  being  suppressed  altogether,  I  recognised  revo- 
lution, with  its  inevitable  consequences,  disorder,  an- 
archy, and  death,  where  others  saw  only  light  fighting 
with  prejudice.  Up  to  that  time  the  conspiracy  had 
only  reconnoitred  its  ground  and  prepared  it.  It  has 
grown,  and  it  must  grow,  thanks  to  the  instruments 
which  a  too  deplorable  folly  has  allowed  it  to  create  for 
itself. 

It  has  not  been  slow  in  descending  from  the  intel- 
lectual sphere  into  that  of  material  facts.  One  word 
was  sufficient  to  gain  public  favour.  That  word  was 
Constitution,  of  all  words  the  least  precise,  the  most 
open  to  variety  of  interpretation,  and  the  easiest  to 
make  popular,  for  it  acts  on  the  mass  of  the  people 
through  their  hopes.  Tell  men  that  by  means  of  a 
single  word  you  will  ensure  them  their  rights,  a  liberty 


538       RESULTS   OF   THE   CONGRESS   AT   LAYBACH. 

f 

whicli  the  mass  always  confound  with  hcence,  a  career 
for  their  ambition,  and  success  in  all  their  enterjDrises, 
and  you  will  have  no  trouble  in  making  them  hsten  to 
you.  The  mass  once  agitated,  they  give  up  everything  : 
they  hsten,  but  do  not  care  to  comprehend.  When 
the  people  do  really  comprehend,  they  are  the  first  to 
re-estabhsh  order. 

This  ground  taken,  as  the  last  resource,  authority 
has  been  attacked.  The  factious  have  had  recourse  to 
arms ;  triumph  seemed  to  them  quite  certain. 

The  clear  and  precise  aim  of  the  factious  is  one  and 
uniform.  It  is  the  overthrow  of  everything  legally 
existing.  The  ambitious  and  successful  are  always 
impatient  and  ardent  in  their  demands.  Every  day  in 
a  revolution  is  equivalent  to  the  career  of  a  man.  The 
day  past  is  nothing,  the  present  day  is  everything,  and 
that  will  be  nothing  to-morrow.  Influence,  place,  for- 
tune, all  that  human  passions  most  covet,  are  suspended 
and  attached  to  the  tree  of  hberty  like  prizes  on  the 
pole  at  a  fair.  The  people  do  not  want  urging  to  flock 
to  it  in  crowds.  Go  to  the  fair  they  must,  and  to  get 
there  everything  must  be  overturned. 

The  principle  wdiich  the  monarchs  must  oppose  to 
this  plan  of  universal  destruction  is  the  preservation  of 
everything  legally  existing.  The  only  way  to  arrive  at 
this  end  is  by  allowing  no  innovations. 

Your  Imperial  Majesty  knows  me  well  enough  to 
be  assured  that  no  person  is  farther  removed  than  I 
am  from  any  narrow  views  of  administration.  It  is 
sim^^ly  the  attainment  of  real  good  that  I  desire,  and 
on  every  occasion  consider  my  duty  to  maintain.  But 
the  more  positive  I  am  of  this  the  more  I  am  convinced 
that  it  is  impossible  at  the  same  time  to  preserve  and 
to  reform  with  any  justice  or  reason  when  the  mass  of 


METTERNICII   TO   EMPEROR   ALEXANDER.  539 

the  people  is  in  agitation  ;  it  is  then  like  an  individual 
in  a  state  of  irritation,  threatened  with  fever,  or  already- 
yielding  to  its  ravages. 

Let  the  Governments  govern,  and  authority  be  some- 
thing more  than  a  name,  for  it  is  nothing  without 
power. 

By  ruling,  it  really  ameliorates  the  situation,  but  let 
authority  remove  nothing  from  the  foundations  on  which 
it  rests  ;  let  it  act,  but  not  concede.  It  should  exercise 
its  rights,  but  not  discuss  them.  It  should  be  just  (and 
to  be  so  it  must  be  strong),  and  should  respect  all  rights 
as  it  would  have  its  own  respected. 

In  one  word,  Sire,  let  us  be  conservative  ;  let  us  walk 
steadily  and  firmly  on  well-known  paths ;  let  us  not 
deviate  from  those  lines  in  word  or  deed  :  we  shall  thus 
be  strong,  and  shall  come  at  last  to  a  time  when  im- 
provements may  be  made  with  as  much  chance  of  suc- 
cess as  there  is  now  certainty  of  failure. 

II.  Means. 

The  monarchs  should  be  furnished  with  such  proofs 
of  mutual  confidence,  and  unity  of  principle  and  will, 
that  they  may  have  (to  effect  the  good  they  desire) 
nothing  to  do  but  to  maintain  this  attitude. 

This  state  of  things  is  less  easy  of  attainment  when 
the  Courts  are  situated  at  great  distances  ;  therefore,  I 
am  most  anxious.  Sire,  to  make  certain  of  the  means. 

With  this  object,  it  is  necessary  that  before  the  se- 
paration takes  place,  your  Imperial  Majesty  should  come 
to  an  understanding  with  the  Emperor  Francis  on  the 
following  subjects  : — 

1st.  The  transactions  of  Laybach  should  be  re- 
garded by  the  two  Courts  as  an  unchangeable  basis 
until  the  meeting  of  the  Cabinets  in  1822  • 


540       RESULTS   OF  THE   CONGRESS  AT  LAYBACH. 

The  ambassadors  sent  from  tliese  two  Courts  to  the 
other  Courts  of  Europe  should  receive  instructions  to 
regulate  their  conduct,  on  every  occasion,  with  the 
greatest  care,  according  to  the  principle  I  have  just  laid 
down.  The  factious  and  feeble,  encouraged  by  the  false 
pohcy  of  many  of  the  Cabinets,  will  combine  to  disturb 
this  union  between  the  two  monarchs.  What  they 
cannot  succeed  in  destroying,  they  will  try  to  injure  in 
pubhc  opinion.  The  strongest  and  most  persistent 
efforts  of  the  abettors  of  the  existing  evil  will  be  naturally 
directed  against  the  most  powerful  barrier  which  could 
be  opposed  to  it.  All  this  is  simple  and  natural,  and 
consequently  certain.  Energetic  and  precise  instruc- 
tions should  be  given  to  the  representatives  of  the  two 
Courts,  requiring  them  to  support  each  other  on  every 
occasion  in  all  explanations  respecting  the  transactions 
at  Laybach  and  their  consequences. 

2nd.  In  a  time  of  continual  agitation  cases  may  pre- 
sent themselves  which  it  is  impossible  to  define  before- 
hand. 

The  two  monarchs  must  agree  among  themselves  : — 

To  judge  any  fortuitous  case  according  to  the  prin- 
ciples which  were  applied  at  Laybach  in  similar  cases  ; 

Not  to  hesitate  to  place  themselves  in  an  attitude 
agreeable  to  these  principles  ; 

Finally,  to  put  off  any  explanation  with  other  Courts 
until  after  an  exchange  of  communications,  which  the 
two  monarchs  must  immediately  open,  rather  than  run 
the  risk  of  differing  in  their  ex^^lanations  or  their 
conduct. 

The  geographical  position  of  Austria  should  make 
your  Imperial  Majesty  attach  a  particular  vahie  to  this 
engagement  on  our  part. 

ord.  An  affair  of  very  grave  importance,  the  revolt 


METTERNICH  TO   EMPEROR  ALEXANDER,  541 

of  the  Greeks,  requires  the  most  perfect  understancling 
between  the  two  monarchs.  Your  Imperial  Majesty's 
opinion  on  the  matter  I  know,  and  I  have  taken  the 
liberty  of  devoting  to  that  subject  a  short  separate 
paper.  I  shall  have  the  honour  of  sending  it  to  your  Ma- 
jesty, but  it  will  contain  your  Imperial  Majesty's  own 
ideas. 

4th.  The  most  absolute  uniformity  of  judgment  on 
the  dangers  and  exigences  of  the  moment,  exists  be- 
tween your  Imperial  Majesty  and  your  august  ally,  and, 
allow  me  to  add,  myself. 

This  addition.  Sire,  is  not  pretension.  I  would  not 
allow  myself  to  make  it  if  I  did  not  believe  it  to  be 
really  useful.  It  is  proved  that  the  factious  of  all 
countries  and  of  all  shades  have  established  a  centre  of 
information  and  action.  Chance,  too,  has  its  limits ; 
therefore  it  was  not  chance  that  we  have  been  so  suc- 
cessful in  the  columotions  and  catastrophes  of  the  last 
twelve  months.       t 

To  this  centre  of  information  another  must  be  op- 
posed. Not  so  with  action.  Conspiracies  alone  depend 
on  a  single  centre  of  action  :  the  cause  which  we  defend. 
Sire,  the  cause  of  God  and  man,  must  be  assisted  at 
every  possible  point.  Our  measures  are  all  matured,  and 
to  be  put  in  motion  it  is  only  necessary  to  folloAv  a  line 
of  principles  agreed  upon.  Legitimate  power  does  not 
run  the  same  chances  *of  defeat  as  revolutionary  action. 

My  wishes,  therefore,  are  confined  to  the  establish- 
ment of  a  centre  of  information,  and  for  this  Vienna 
offers  every  advantage.  It  is  central,  and  our  means  of 
observation  in  Germany  and  Italy  are  numerous. 

Your  Imperial  Majesty  deigns  to  give  me  a  certain 
amount  of  confidence.  Assist  me  to  justify  that  con- 
fidence by  the  triumph  of  a  cause  which  is  yours  as 


,  542       RESULTS   OF  THE   CONGRESS  AT  LAYBACH. 

mucli  as  ours,  and  in  which  the  whole  civihsed  world 
will  one  day  proclaim  its  interest. 

If,  Sire,  yon  can  find  a  thoroughly  trustworthy  man, 
place  him  at  Vienna,  and  accredit  him  to  me.  Give 
him  all  the  data  which  your  Imperial  Majesty  can  collect 
concerning  the  movements  of  the  factious  in  the  various 
countries  of  Europe.  That  man  would  know  all  that 
we  know.  The  consequence  will  be  a  focus  of  light 
such  as  does  not  exist  at  present.  We  shall  obtain 
results  which  perhaps  we  do  not  expect.  We  shall 
know  the  truth  and  not  be  led  away  by  appearances, 
and  in  the  end  we  shall  bafile  our  opponents. 

Such,  Sire,  are  the  moral  and  material  measures 
which  I  propose  to  j^ou.  They  are  drawn  up  with  the 
conviction  that,  without  steady  observation  and  con- 
tinued action,  we  shall  never  do  the  good  which  is  our 
duty ;  any  divergence  from  our  path  will  have  an 
influence  for  evil,  like  a  false  movement  in  the  day  of 
battle  :  it  is  only  by  learning  all  we  can  that  we  can 
hope  to  beat  the  enemy  ;  and,  in  short,  to  attain  this  end, 
the  most  glorious  the  mind  of  man  can  conceive,  it  is 
absolutely  necessary  to  unite  our  efforts  and  make 
common  cause. 

MetternicKs  Circular  Desjiatch  to  the  Austrian  Ambas- 
sadors at  Foreign  Courts,  Layhach,  May  12,  1821. 

553.  The  meeting  of  the  allied  monarchs  and  their 
Cabinets  at  Troppau  was  held  to  determine  the  point 
of  view  from  which  they  w^ould  regard  the  unhappy 
events  Avhich  had  overthrown  the  lejiitimate  Govern- 
ment  at  Naples  ;  to  arrange  a  common  line  of  conduct ; 
and  in  a  spirit  of  justice  and  moderation  to  contrive 
measures  calculated  to  secure  Italy  from  a  general  over- 
throw, and  the  neighbouring  States  from  most  imminent 


CIRCULAR   DESPATCH.  543 

dangers.  Thanks  to  the  happy  agreement  of  views  and 
feeUngs  which  reigned  among  the  three  august  sovereigns, 
this  first  task  was  soon  accompHshed. 

Principles  clearly  announced  and  embraced  on  both 
sides  with  all  the  sincerity  of  conviction  could  not  fail 
to  lead  to  analogous  resolutions  ;  and  the  bases  estab- 
hshed  at  the  time  of  the  first  conferences  have  been 
invariably  followed  during  the  whole  course  of  a  meet- 
ing signalised  by  the  most  remarkable  results. 

Transferred  to  Lavbach,  this  meetino;  took  a  more 
decided  character,  owing  to  the  presence  and  concur- 
rence of  the  King  of  the  Two  Sicilies,  and  the  unanimity 
with  which  the  princes  of  Italy  acceded  to  the  system 
adopted  by  the  allied  Cabinets.  The  monarchs  were 
convinced  that  the  Governments  most  immediately  in- 
terested in  the  destinies  of  the  Peninsula  would  do  justice 
to  the  purity  of  their  intentions,  and  that  a  sovereign 
placed  in  a  most  painful  situation  by  acts  of  perfidy 
and  violence  associated  with  his  name  would  resign 
himself  with  perfect  confidence  to  measures  which  would 
both  put  an  end  to  that  state  of  moral  captivity  and 
restore  to  his  faithful  subjects  the  repose  and  well-being 
of  which  criminal  factions  had  deprived  them. 

The  effect  of  these  measures  was  not  long  in  mani- 
festing itself.  The  edifice  raised  by  revolt,  as  fragile  in 
its  construction  as  corrupt  in  its  foundations,  resting 
only  on  the  cunning  of  some  and  the  sudden  blindness 
of  others,  disowned  by  the  great  majority  of  the  nation, 
odious  even  to  the  army  formed  to  defend  it,  has  given 
way  at  the  first  contact  with  the  regular  forces.  Legi- 
timate power  is  re-established  ;  the  factions  are  dis- 
persed ;  the  Neapolitan  people  are  delivered  from  the 
tyranny  of  those  audacious  impostors  who,  flattering 
their  dreams  of  false  liberty,  practised  upon  them  the 


544   RESULTS  OF  THE  CONGRESS  AT  LAYBACH. 

most  cruel  vexations,  imposed  enormous  sacrifices  solely 
for  the  satisfaction  of  their  own  ambition  and  greed, 
and  went  far  to  irretrievably  ruin  a  country  of  which 
they  never  ceased  calling  themselves  the  regenerators. 

This  important  restoration  is  consummated  by  the 
counsels  and  efforts  of  the  allied  Powers.  Now  that 
the  KincT  of  the  Two  Sicilies  is  asrain  invested  with  his 
full  ric^hts,  the  monarchs  content  themselves  with 
seconding  by  their  most  ardent  wishes  the  measures 
adopted  by  this  sovereign  for  the  reconstruction  of  his 
Government,  and  the  securing,  by  good  laws  and  wise 
institutions,  the  real  interests  of  his  subjects  and  the 
constant  prosperity  of  his  kingdom. 

During  the  course  of  these  great  transactions,  we 
have  seen  burst  forth  here  and  there  the  effects  of  the 
vast  conspiracy,  so  long  directed  against  the  Powers 
which  have  enjoyed  happiness  and  glory  for  hundreds 
of  years.  The  existence  of  this  conspiracy  was  not 
unknown  to  the  monarchs  ;  but  in  the  midst  of  the 
agitations  which  Italy  has  endured  since  the  catastrophes 
of  the  year  1820,  and  the  attendant  confusion,  it  has 
developed  with  increasing  rajDidity,  and  its  true  character 
has  come  to  light.  It  is  not,  as  one  might  have  be- 
lieved at  a  less  advanced  period,  against  such  and  such 
form  of  government  particularly  exposed  to  their  abuse 
that  the  dark  enterprises  of  tlie  authors  of  these  })lots 
and  the  foolish  wishes  of  their  blind  partisans  are 
directed.  The  States  which  have  admitted  changes  in 
their  pohtical  regime  are  not  more  protected  from  tlieir 
attacks  than  those  whose  ancient  institutions  have  with- 
stood the  storms  of  time.  Pure  monarcliies,  hmited 
monarchies,  federative  constitutions,  republics,  all  are 
confounded  and  proscribed  by  a  sect  which  treats 
oligarchy   as   something   raised   above   the  level  of  a 


CIRCULAR   DESPATCH.  545 

chimerical  equality.  The  chiefs  of  this  impious  league, 
indifferent  to  every  kind  of  stable  and  permanent 
organisation,  aim  solely  at  the  fundamental  bases  of 
society.  To  overthrow  what  exists,  and  substitute 
whatever  chance  suggests  to  their  disordered  imagina- 
tions or  their  sinister  passions — this  is  the  essence  of 
their  doctrine,  and  the  secret  of  all  their  machinations  ! 

The  allied  sovereigns  cannot  forget  that  they  have 
but  one  barrier  to  oppose  to  this  devastating  torrent — 
namely,  the  preservation  of  all  that  is  legally  established. 
This  has  been  the  invariable  principle  of  their  policy,  the 
starting-point  and  the  end  of  all  their  resolutions.  They 
have  been  stopped  by  the  vain  clamours  of  ignorance 
or  malice,  accusing  them  of  condemning  humanity  to  a 
state  of  stagnation  and  torpor  incompatible  with  the 
natural  and  progressive  course  of  civilisation,  and  with 
the  improvement  of  social  institutions.  These  monarchs 
have  never  manifested  the  least  disposition  to  oppose 
genuine  ameliorations,  or  the  reform  of  abuses  which 
creep  into  the  best  Governments.  Very  different  views 
have  animated  them  ;  and  if  the  repose  which  the 
Governments  and  people  had  the  right  to  beheve  had 
been  secured  to  them  by  the  pacification  of  Europe 
has  not  brought  about  all  the  good  which  should  have 
followed,  it  is  because  the  Governments  have  been 
obliged  to  concentrate  their  thoughts  on  the  means  of 
effectually  stemming  the  progress  of  a  faction  which, 
spreading  error,  discontent,  and  the  fanaticism  of  inno- 
vation, would  soon  have  endangered  the  existence  of  all 
public  order.  Useful  or  necessary  changes  in  the 
legislation  and  administration  of  States  should  emanate 
from  the  freewill,  the  thoughtful  and  enhghtened  con- 
viction of  those  to  whom  God  has  given  the  respon- 
sibility of  power.      Any   departure   from   this    line    of 

VOL.  III.  N  N 


546        KESULTS   OF   THE   CONGRESS   AT   LAYBACH, 

conduct  necessarily  leads  to  disorder,  confusion  and 
evils  much  more  insupportable  than  those  which  it 
pretends  to  cure.  Convinced  of  this  eternal  truth,  the 
sovereigns  have  had  no  hesitation  in  proclaiming  it 
with  frankness  and  vigour  ;  they  have  declared  that, 
v/liile  respecting  the  rights  and  independence  of  all 
legitimate  j)Ower,  they  regard  as  legally  void  and  un- 
authorised according  to  the  principles  which  constitute 
the  public  law  of  Europe  all  pretended  reforms  effected 
by  revolt  and  open  force.  They  have  acted  in  accor- 
dance  with  this  declaration  at  Naples  and  in  Piedmont, 
and  in  those  events  even  which — in  very  different  cir- 
cumstances, but  by  equally  criminal  combinations — 
had  given  up  the  eastern  part  of  Europe  to  disorder. 
Tlie  monarchs  are  all  the  more  determined  not  to 
depart  from  this  system,  that  they  consider  the  firmness 
with  which  they  maintained  it,  in  an  epoch  so  critical, 
to  be  the  real  cause  of  the  success  with  which  their 
efforts  for  the  re-establishment  of  order  in  Italy  have 
been  crowned.  The  Governments  of  the  Peninsula  have 
proclaimed  that  they  had  nothing  to  fear  for  their  poli- 
tical independence,  the  integrity  of  their  territories,  or 
the  preservation  of  their  rights,  in  begging  for  help, 
which  was  given  to  them  on  the  sole  condition  that 
they  should  use  it  to  defend  their  own  existence.  It 
is  this  reciprocal  confidence  which  has  saved  Italy,  and 
in  tlie  space  of  two  months  has  arrested  a  confkigration 
which,  without  the  intervention  of  the  allied  Powers, 
would  have  ravacred  and  ruined  the  whole  of  that 
beautiful  country,  and  threatened  for  a  long  time  the 
rest  of  Europe. 

Nothing  has  more  effectually  shown  the  force  of  the 
moral  power  which  connects  the  salvation  of  Italy  with 
the   determinations  of  the   monarchs  than  the  prompt 


CIRCULAR   DESPATCH.  547 

and  liappy  denouement  of  the  revolt  which  had  broken 
out  in  Piedmont.  Conspirators,  partly  composed  of 
foreigners,  had  prepared  this  new  crime,  and  to  ensure 
its  success  had  put  in  motion  the  most  detestable  of  all 
revolutionary  measures,  that  of  inciting  against  authority 
the  armed  force  whose  function  it  is  to  obey  it  and  to 
maintain  pubhc  order.  Victim  of  an  inexplical^le 
treason  (if  an5^thing  is  to  be  called  inexplicable  while 
political  crimes  find  voices  to  defend  them  in  Europe), 
a  sovereign  justly  enjoying  the  respect  and  afTection  of 
his  subjects  is  obhged  to  abdicate  a  throne  which  he  had 
adorned  with  his  virtues  ;  a  considerable  portion  of  his 
troops  is  dragged  into  the  abyss  by  the  example  and 
intrigues  of  a  small  number  of  ambitious  men  ;  'knd  the 
vulgar  cry  of  the  anti-social  faction,  echoing  through  the 
capital,  reverberated  in  the  provinces.  The  monarchs 
assembled  at  Laybach  were  not  long  in  replying  to  this. 
Their  union  was  strengthened  and  increased  by  danger, 
and  their  protecting  voice  was  soon  heard.  When  the 
faithful  servants  of  the  King  saw  tliat  they  were  not 
abandoned,  tliey  employed  all  that  remained  to  them  of 
their  resources  to  combat  the  enemies  of  their  country 
and  the  national  glory.  Legitimate  power,  though 
hampered  and  paralysed  in  its  action,  was  not  tlie  less 
mindful  to  maintain  its  dignity  and  its  rights,  and,  help 
arrivino;  at  the  decisive  moment  of  the  crisis,  the 
triumph  of  tlie  good  cause  was  soon  complete.  Pied- 
mont was  delivered  in  a  few  days,  and  nothing 
remained  of  a  revolution  which  had  reckoned  on  the 
fall  of  more  than  one  Government  but  the  shameful 
recollections  carried  away  by  its  guilty  authors. 

Thus,  in  following  without  deviation  the  principles 
established,  and  tlie  line  of  conduct  agreed  upon  in  the 
first  days  of  their  meeting,  tlie  allied  monarchs  have 

Is  N  2 


548        RESULTS   OF   THE   CONGRESS   AT   LAYBACH. 

accomplished  the  pacification  of  Italy.  Their  principal 
object  is  attained.  None  of  the  proceedings  concluded 
there  have  belied  the  declarations  which  truth  and 
good  faith  had  inspired.  They  have  remained  faithful 
under  every  trial  that  Providence  had  in  reserve  for 
them.  Called  more  than  all  the  other  legitimate 
sovereigns  to  watch  over  the  peace  of  Europe,  to  pro- 
tect it,  not  only  against  the  errors  and  passions  which 
might  compromise  the  relations  of  one  Power  to 
another,  but  also  against  those  fatal  attempts  which 
would  deliver  up  the  whole  civihsed  world  to  the 
horrors  of  universal  anarchy — they*  would  feel  that 
they  profaned  their  august  vocation  by  the  narrow 
calculations  of  a  vulgar  policy.  As  everything  is 
simple,  plain,  and  open  in  the  system  which  they 
have  embraced,  they  submit  it  with  confidence  to  the 
judgment  of  all  enlightened  Governments. 

The  Congress  which  has  just  concluded  is  to  re- 
assemble in  the  course  of  next  year.  It  will  then  take 
into  consideration  the  duration  of  the  measures  which, 
by  consent  of  all  the  Courts  of  Italy,  and  particularly 
those  of  Naples  and  Turin,  have  been  judged  neces- 
sary to  secure  the  tranquillity  of  the  Peninsula.  The 
monarchs  and  their  Cabinets  will  approach  the  examin- 
ation of  that  question  in  the  same  spirit  which  has 
hitherto  guided  them.  Motives  of  undoubted  weight, 
and  fully  justified  by  results,  determined  the  sovereigns 
to  interfere  in  the  affairs  of  Italy.  They  are  far  from 
wishing  to  prolong  this  intervention  beyond  the  limits 
.of  strict  necessity,  sincerely  hoping  that  the  circum- 
stances which  imposed  this  painful  duty  upon  them 
may  never  again  occur. 

We  have  thought  it  useful,  when  the  sovereigns 
.are  about  to  separate,  to  recapitulate  in  the  preceding 


CIRCULAR   DESPATCH.  549 

paper  the  principles  which  have  guided  them  in  their 
late  transactions. 

You  are  consequently  charged  to  communicate  this 
despatch  to  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  at  the  Court 
to  which  you  are  accredited. 

You  will  receive  at  the  same  time  a  declaration 
{No.  554)  conceived  in  the  same  spirit,  which  the  Cabinets 
have  had  drawn  up  and  printed  in  order  to  make 
known  to  the  European  public  the  sentiments  and  prin- 
ciples with  which  the  august  sovereigns  are  animated, 
and  which  will  always  serve  as  guides  to  their  poHcy. 


550        RESULTS  OF  THE   CONGRESS  AT  LA.YBACH. 


Declaration. 

(Supplement  to  No.  553.) 

554.  Europe  knows  the  motives  which  induced  the 
alhed  sovereigns  to  combine  to  suppress  conspiracies 
and  put  an  end  to  the  troubles  which  threatened  the 
general  peace,  the  re-establishment  of  which  has  cost 
so  many  efforts  and  so  many  sacrifices. 

At  the  very  moment  when  their  generous  determi- 
nation was  accomplished  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  a 
rebelhon  of  a  still  more  odious  kind  (if  that  were  pos- 
sible) broke  out  in  Piedmont. 

Neither  the  ties  which  for  so  many  centuries  had 
united  the  House  of  Savoy  to  its  people,  nor  the  benefits 
of  an  enlightened  administration  under  a  mse  prince 
and  paternal  laws,  nor  the  sad  prospect  of  the  evils  to 
which  the  country  would  be  exposed,  could  restrain  the 
desiQ:ns  of  these  instio^ators  of  rebellion. 

The  plan  for  a  general  subversion  was  drawn  up. 
In  this  vast  combination  against  the  repose  of  nations 
the  conspirators  of  Piedmont  had  their  role  assigned  to 
them.     They  have  hastened  to  fulfil  it. 

The  throne  and  the  State  have  been  betrayed,  oaths 
violated,  mihtary  honour  despised,  and  neglect  of  every 
duty  has  speedily  brought  the  scourge  of  all  disorders. 

Everywhere  the  evil  has  presented  the  same  cha- 
racter ;  everywhere  the  same  spirit  lias  directed  these 
unhappy  revolutions. 

Unable  to  find  a  plausible  reason  to  justify  them,  or 
national  support  to  sustain  them,  it  is  in  false  doctrines 
that  the  authors  of  these  revolutions  seek  an  apology  ; 
it  is  on  criminal  associations  that  they  found  a  still 
more  criminal  hope.     To  them  the  salutary  control  of 


DECLARATION.  551 

law  is  a  yoke  which  must  be  broken.  They  renounce 
the  sentiments  which  inspire  true  patriotism,  and  sub- 
stituting for  well-known  duties  arbitrary  and  indefinite 
pretences  of  universal  change  in  the  constituent  prin- 
ciples of  society,  they  prepare  endless  calamities  for  the 
world. 

The  allied  sovereigns  recognised  all  the  dangers  of 
this  conspiracy  to  their  full  extent,  but  at  the  same  time 
they  saw  the  real  weakness  of  the  conspirators  behind 
the  veil  of  appearances  and  declamations.  Experience 
has  confirmed  their  presentiments.  The  resistance 
which  legitimate  authority  has  met  with  has  had  no 
strength,  and  crime  has  disappeared  before  the  sword  of 
justice. 

It  is  not  to  accidental  causes,  nor  even  to  tlie  feeble 
resistance  made  in  the  day  of  battle,  that  tlie  speedy 
success  must  be  attributed.  This  rests  upon  a  principle 
more  consoling  and  more  worthy  of  consideration. 

Providence  struck  terror  into  consciences  so  guilty, 
and  the  disapproval  of  the  people,  whose  fate  was  com- 
promised by  these  authors  of  mischief,  made  them  drop 
their  arms. 

Destined  simply  to  combat  and  suppress  rebellion, 
the  allied  forces,  far  from  maintaining  any  separate  in- 
terest, came  to  the  assistance  of  the  subjugated  people, 
and  the  people  regarded  their  aid  as  a  support  in  favour 
of  their  liberty,  not  as  an  attack  on  their  independence. 
From  that  time  the  war  ceased  ;  from  that  time  the  States 
which  rebellion  had  reached  have  been  friendly  to 
Powers  which  desired  nothing  but  their  tranquillity 
and  well-being. 

In  the  midst  of  these  grave  conjunctures  and  in  a 
position  so  delicate  the  allied  sovereigns,  togetlier  with 
their  Majesties   the  King  of  the  Two  Sicilies  and  the 


552        RESULTS   OF   THE   CONGRESS   AT   LAYBACH. 

King  of  Sardinia,  have  tliouglit  it  indispensable  to  take 
measures  of  temporary  precaution,  such  as  were  dictated 
by  prudence  and  regard  for  the  general  safety.  The 
allied  troops,  whose  presence  was  necessary  for  the  re- 
establishment  of  order,  have  been  stationed  at  conve- 
nient points,  with  the  sole  view  of  protecting  the  free 
exercise  of  legitimate  authority,  and  assisting  it  to  efface 
the  traces  of  these  grave  misfortunes. 

The  justice  and  disinterestedness  which  have  pre- 
sided at  the  deliberations  of  the  allied  monarchs  will 
always  regulate  their  policy.  In  the  future,  as  in  the 
past,  its  aim  will  ever  be  the  preservation  of  the  inde- 
pendence and  the  rights  of  each  State  as  they  are  recog- 
nised and  defined  by  existing  treaties.  The  result  of  so 
dangerous  a  movement  will  yet  be,  under  Providence, 
the  strengthening  of  the  peace  which  the  enemies  of  the 
people  endeavoured  to  destroy,  and  the  consolidation  of 
an  order  of  things  which  will  secure  peace  and  prosperity 
to  the  nations. 

Moved  by  these  feelings,  the  allied  sovereigns,  in 
fixing  a  limit  to  the  conferences  at  Laybach,  wished  to 
announce  to  the  world  the  principles  which  guided  them. 
They  are  determined  never  to  dejDart  from  them,  and  all 
lovers  of  peace  will  see  in  their  union  an  assured  guaran- 
tee against  the  attempts  of  the  ill-disposed. 

With  this  object  their  Imperial  and  Eoyal  Majesties 
have  commanded  their  plenipotentiaries  to  sign  and  pub- 
lish the  present  declaration. 

Laybach,  May  12,  1821. 

Austria :  Metterxicii,  Baron  de  Vincent  ; 

Prussia  :  Krusemarck  ; 

Russia :  Nesselrode,  Capo  dTstria,  Pozzo  di  Borgo. 


653 


METTERNIGH'S  MISSION  TO  KING  GEORGE  IV.  OF 
ENGLAND  IN  HANOVER. 

Metternich  to  the  Emperor  Francis. 

665.  Hanover,  Oct.  24,  ]821. — True  to  my  plan  for 
the  journey,  I  arrived  here  in  good  time  on  the  20th. 
I  heard,  when  at  Brunswick,  that  the  King  was  con- 
fined to  his  bed  with  the  gout.  On  my  arrival  I  was  told 
that  this  is  only  a  slight  attack,  the  consequence  of  a 
cold  taken  by  his  Majesty  at  the  review  of  the  troops. 

I  found  everything  ready  for  my  reception  on  the 
part  of  the  King.  I  have  also  spoken  to  Lord  Castle- 
reagh,  and  convinced  myself  that  it  is  the  King's  wish, 
as  well  as  his  own,  to  bring  about  a  thorough  under- 
standing between  the  two  Courts  in  the  present  crisis. 
The  first  conversation  was  sufficient  to  show  that  this 
agreement  would  be  accomplished  without  difficulty. 

On  the  following  day  the  King  summoned  me.  He 
is  residing  at  a  country  house  which  lies  about  the  same 
distance  from  Hanover  as  Schonbrunn  from  Vienna. 

I  found  the  King  looking  much  better  than  I  ex- 
pected. A  well-known  English  arcaimm  called  '  Wil- 
son's Eemedy '  had  already  moderated  the  attack  of 
gout.  The  King  w^as  lying  in  a  chaiselongue  in  a  rather 
fantastic  Austrian  hussar's  coat.  He  wore  the  small 
crosses  of  the  Austrian  order. 

He  received  me  Avith  all  the  marks  of  pleasure,  and 
at  once  began  the  conversation  by  assuring  me  that  your 
Majesty   had  done  him  two  great  favours  in  life.     The 


554  MISSION   TO   GEORGE   IV.   OF   ENGLAND. 

first — and  lie  pointed  to  the  toison  I  always  wear — tlie 
other  that  your  Majesty  had  sent  me  to  him. 

He  now  began  a  long  speech,  which  certainly  lasted 
half  an  hour,  and  was  meant  to  impress  me  with  the 
feeling  of  his  attachment  to  your  Majesty,  whom  he 
never  mentioned  without  saying  '  Our  Emperor.'  My 
personal  praises  followed  in  a  Avay  that  only  embar- 
rassed the  man  w]io  was  their  object ;  between  which  he 
did  not  fail  to  make  the  most  violent  personal  attacks 
against  the  Emperor  Alexander  and  still  worse  against 
Count  Capo  d'lstria. 

After  these  alternate  attacks  and  laudations  he  came 
to  the  motives  for  my  coming  here.  He  began  with 
a  long  recapitulation  of  the  events  of  late  years,  in 
which  he  conceded  the  principal  part  to  Austria,  and 
ended  with  a  frightful  explosion  against  his  own  min- 
istry, especially  against  Lord  Liverpool,  but  entirely 
excepting  Lord  Castlereagh,  whom  he  described  as  a 
faithful,  vigorous  man,  quite  devoted  to  the  good  cause, 
as  proof  of  which  he  concluded  by  saying,  '  He  under- 
stands you  ;  he  is  your  friend  :  that  says  everything.' 

When  the  King  had  finished  (and  I  guarded  myself 
from  interrupting  him),  I  took  care  to  return  to  every- 
thing he  had  said.  I  passed  over  his  fierce  attacks,  and 
endeavoured  to  make  him  see  the  real  position  of  affairs. 

The  result  was  that  we  arrived  at  the  same  point  of 
view ;  the  King  became  more  calm,  and  expressed  him- 
self with  the  greatest  justice  and  propriety. 

After  a  conversation  of  more  than  three  hours,  he 
left  me  with  the  invitation  to  come  to  him  when  and 
how  I  should  think  well.  He  expressly  reserved  to  him- 
self the  further  unfolding  of  his  views  on  the  position  of 
affairs,  foreign  and  domestic. 

I  now  first  commenced  a  res^ular  official  nec^otiation 


METTERNICH   TO   EMPEROR  FRANCIS.  555 

with  Lord  Londonderry  (Castlereagh).  My  courier  from 
Vienna  had  arrived  with  copies  of  my  last  despatches 
to  Constantinople  and  St.  Petersburg,  and  I  took  these 
as  the  groundwork  of  our  agreement.  I  have  the  satis- 
faction of  assuring  your  Majesty  that  Lord  London- 
derry, when  I  liad  explained  this  basis,  pronounced  it 
so  clear  that  he  has  adopted  it  unconditionally  as  the 
most  reasonable  and  fitting. 

My  business  here  may  be  divided  into  two  parts. 
The  course  taken  here  with  regard  to  tlie  Turkish 
complication  is  so  firm  and  consistent  that  we  shall 
certainly  be  able  to  prepare  a  very  difficult  solution  for 
their  evil  game.  Lord  Londonderry  and  I  have  sent  a 
courier  to  Count  Bernstorff,  to  summon  him  from  Meck- 
lenburg, where  he  is  just  now.  If  he  cannot  come,  I 
hope  I  shall  meet  him  on  my  journey  home. 

Count  Lieven  has  not  arrived,  for  what  reason  is 
quite  unknown.  We  know  that  he  left  St.  Petersburg  on 
September  25,  but  at  the  first  halt  he  would  fii.d  an 
invitation  from  the  Emperor  to  go  to  him  at  Witepsk 
for  the  review,  and  as  that  may  have  detained  him  ten 
or  twelve  days,  we  expect  him  every  hour,  and  I  am 
very  anxious  for  his  arrival. 

My  second  object  here  is  the  home  affairs.  It  is 
necessary  to  keep  the  ministry  in  their  places,  or  if  this 
is  not  practicable,  at  any  rate  to  Teconstruct  a  ministry 
under  Lord  Castlereagh's  leadership  devoted  to  the 
cause,  or  to  us,  wliich  is  tlie  same  thing. 

In  this  critical  question  I  quite  agree  with  Lord 
Castlereagh's  thoroughly  right  and  judicious  views.  I 
hope  to  be  able  to  support  him  with  the  King.  That  I, 
however,  must  keep  within  very  precise  limits,  is  a  ne- 
cessitv  of  the  case,  for  it  can  never  be  the  true  interest 
of  one  State  to  meddle  in  the  home  afl'airs  of  another. 


556  MISSION   TO   GEORCxE   IV.    OF   ENGLAND. 

My  part  here,  tlierefore,  can  go  no  further  than  to 
show  myself  an  unselfish  and  calmly  reflective  friend  of 
the  good  cause.  My  personal  knowledge— which  is,  un- 
happily, only  too  great — of  the  obstructive  character 
(combined  as  it  is,  however,  with  many  talents)  of  Lord 
Liverpool,  leads  me  to  consider  as  a  real  benefit  his 
leaving  the  ministry  with  a  view  to  its  recom position 
under  Lord  Londonderry  as  Premier.  Our  pohtical 
standpoint  would  certainly  gain  by  England's  taking  a 
more  vigorous  grasp  in  the  world's  affairs. 

I  confine  myself  to  this  prehminary  statement  of  my 
attitude  with  regard  to  the  business  of  the  hour  the 
more  wilhngly  as  the  result  will  be  seen  in  but  a 
few  days.   .  .   . 

Attachment  to  your  Majesty's  person  and  the  whole 
Austrian  system  pervades  every  idea  of  the  King.  It  is 
his  great  desire  to  visit  Vienna  in  the  course  of  the  next 
year,  and  Lord  Londonderry  encourages  the  idea.  If 
nothing  unforeseen  occurs,  he  will  certainly  come  in 
June,  and  in  July  go  to  Carlsbad,  then  home  by  Berhn, 
Hanover,  and  Paris.  From  this  short  sketch  your  Ma- 
jesty will  be  satisfied  that  my  relations  here,  pohtical 
and  otherwise,  leave  nothing  to  be  desired. 

My  journey  through  the  whole  of  Upper  and  Lower 
Saxony  has  afforded  me  every  kind  of  evidence  that  the 
preservation  of  peace  lies  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the 
Governments.  The  student  affair  has  been  so  turned 
to  ridicule  that  its  political  tendency  would  have  quite 
disappeared  if  the  least  vigour  had  been  shown  in  the 
matter  of  some  notorious  professors.  But  even  these 
are  only  like  the  few  branded  logs  in  a  huge  pile.  If 
the  Greek  affair  succeeds,  so  much  is  for  the  moment 
gained  that  a  very  little  help  will  put  all  right. 

The  eyes  of  the  well-disposed  are  everywhere  turned 


METTERNICII   TO   EMPEROR   FRANCIS.  557 

on  Austria  ;  every  word  of  ours  tells,  and  if,  when  tlie 
present  political  crisis  reaches  a  moment  of  repose,  we 
only  vigorously  bring  forward  our  system  in  Germany, 
much  jiood  will  ensue.  I  am  able  to  make  this  assertion 
with  the  more  confidence  as  princes  and  ministers  pour 
in  upon  me  from  all  sides,  and  beg  from  me  orders 
rather  than  mere  advice. 

I  cannot  yet  point  out  the  route  by  which  I  shall  go 
back.  At  any  rate  I  will  return  in  the  early  part  of 
November  to  Vienna. 

Metternich  to  the  Emperor  Francis,  Hanover,  Oct.  29, 1821. 

556.  The  King  of  England  has  set  out  on  his  jour- 
ney. He  goes  by  Cassel,  Marburg,  Wetzlar,  Coblenz, 
and  Brussels.     His  health  is  quite  re-estabhshed. 

I  believe  I  have  thoroughly  attained  the  object  of 
my  journey.  My  agreement  with  Lord  Londonderry  is 
concluded.  England  takes  the  same  ground  as  we  do, 
and  this  in  the  following  sense  : — ■ 

1.  The  two  Cabinets  consider  the  maintenance  of 
peace  between  Eussia  and  the  Porte  as  the  most  impor- 
tant object  of  their  common  efforts.  To  facilitate  these 
they  will  leave  nothing  undone  to  enlighten  Eussia  as 
to  the  danger  of  a  breach,  at  the  same  time  calling  upon 
the  Porte  for  an  exact  fulfilment  of  the  treaty  and  mo- 
deration in  its  demands. 

2.  Since  the  unanimity  of  the  declarations  of  the  two 
Courts  that  exercise  the  most  direct  influence  on  the 
Porte  wiU  have  a  most  salutary  effect,  the  two  Cabinets 
have  drawn  up  one  despatch  to  St.  Petersburg  and 
another  to  Constantinople,  in  which  the  above  views 
are  strongly  and  vigorously  developed.  These  decrees 
are  included  in  the  despatch,  and  are  drawn  up  with 
the  care  proper  to  remove  from  the  Eussian  Court  the 


558  MISSION   TO   GEORGE   IV.   OF   ENGLAND. 

delusion  that  a  conference  (on  their  part)  between  the 
ministers  is  necessary  for  an  agreement  in  fundamental 
views.  Lord  Londonderry's  instructions,  therefore,  are 
grounded  mostly  on  English,  mine  on  Austrian,  argu- 
ments. On  both  sides  the  conclusion  arrived  at  is,  the 
necessity  that  Eussia  should  maintain  peace  ;  for,  under 
present  circumstances,  the  evils  consequent  on  any  poli- 
tical war  would  be  incalculable. 

That  the  two  PoAvers  will  exert  their  whole  influence 
on  the  Porte  to  attain  tliis  all-important  object ;  but 
that  it  does  not  come  within  the  province  of  the  Powers 
to  interfere  with  actual  force  in  case  of  opposition 
being  made  ;  that,  lastly,  the  views  which  may  be  en- 
tertained by  Eussia  of  the  greatest  possible  strengthen- 
ing of  the  friendly  relations  between  that  Power  and  the 
Porte  must  be  put  forth  by  Eussia  herself,  and  can  in 
no  way  proceed  from  the  allies.  Li  these  sentences 
your  Majesty  will  find  the  pure  basis  on  which  we  take 
our  stand  thoroughly  shared  by  England.  My  con- 
versations with  Lord  Londonderry  had  the  good  result 
of  very  much  strengthening  his  language.  Your  Ma- 
jesty knoAvs  the  English  ministry  too  Avell  to  doubt 
that  the  instructions  to  Bagot  and  Strangford  would  not 
have  been  nearly  so  precise  as  they  are  but  for  my 
co-operation.  I  have  now  the  pleasure  of  pointing  out 
to  Eussia  how  much  can  always  be  done  with  England 
if  one  knows  how  to  speak  her  language. 

With  regard  to  the  great  question  of  the  moment, 
I  consider  the  result  of  my  journey  as  all  the  more 
decisive  as  Count  Lieven,  who  arrived  here  yesterday, 
has  just  left  the  Emperor  Alexander,  and,  according  to 
the  first  conversation  Avhich  Londonderry  and  I  had 
with  him,  is  quite  convinced  that  that  monarch  will 
certainly  maintain  peace.    Everything  that  I  have  heard 


METTERXICII   TO   EMPEROR   FRANCIS.  559 

from  Count  Lieven  shows  me  that  the  Emperor  Alex- 
ander still  remains  in  the  same  mind  that  he  was  at 
Laybach. 

My  presence  here  has  been  of  great  advantage  in 
another  way  :  I  hope,  and  believe,  namely,  that  Lord 
Londonderry  will  be  present  at  the  Italian  Congress  next 
year. 

As  to  the  home  affairs  of  England,  I  believe  I  have 
put  an  end  to  much  mischief.  I  have  spoken  out  to 
the  King  Avith  much  freedom  and  loyally  supported  the 
ministry.  I  do  not  think  that  Lord  Liverpool  can 
maintain  his  position  :  if  this  is  not  possible  (and  his 
resignation  in  a  good  manner  would  be  a  happiness  for 
England  and  Europe),  the  King  at  least  remains.  If  this 
happens,  Lord  Londonderry  concedes  to  me  the  whole 
merit  of  a  result  which  can  only  act  beneficially  on  our 
future  standpoint.  ... 

The  presence  of  the  King  will  have  a  very  good 
effect  here,  although  it  does  not  amount  to  quite  so 
much  as  it  ought  to  have  done.  He  Avould  make  a 
much  better  appearance  if  he  could  put  aside  certain 
peculiarities  in  his  temper  and  manner. 

As  to  his  attachment  to  your  Majesty  and  to 
Austria's  system,  nothing  more  can  be  desired.  He 
not  only  allows  no  opportunity  to  pass  of  making  this 
feehng  public,  but  he  perhaps  does  too  much  in  that 
way.  At  all  his  dinners  the  first  toast  which  the  Duke 
of  Cambridge  gives,  is,  of  course,  the  King  ;  the  second, 
proposed  by  the  King,  is  your  Majesty.  With  the  first 
the  band  plays  '  God  save  the  King  ; '  with  the  second, 
'  God  preserve  the  Emperor.'  At  state  dinners,  when 
the  people  Avere  assembled  beneath  the  windows,  they 
accompanied  these  toasts  with  loud  hurrahs,  which 
were   not   more   noisy    for   the   King    than   for    your 


560  MISSION   TO   GEORGE   IV.    OF   ENGLAND. 

Majesty.  During  the  first  toast  the  King  remains 
quiet,  and  during  the  second  his  voice  is  louder  even 
than  that  of  his  people. 

Count  Bernstorff  cannot  come  here.  As  I  cannot 
meet  him  on  my  road,  and  as  I  have  no  object  of  any 
kind  to  induce  me  to  travel  by  North  Germany,  I  will 
take  the  route  by  Frankfurt,  which  is  better  for 
travelling,  and  will  only  make  a  difference  of  a  few 
hours.  I  can  thus  stop  at  Cassel  and  see  the  Elector, 
visit  the  Duke  of  Nassau,  and  confer  with  the  ministers 
there  and  at  Darmstadt,  and  put  many  things  in  order 
for  the  next  sitting  of  the  Diet.  Once  at  Biebrich,  I  can 
go  for  four-and-twenty  hours  to  Johannisberg,  and 
reach  Vienna  by  November  12.  By  the  other  route  I 
should  reach  Vienna  on  the  9th,  but  in  this  short  delay 
I  see  no  disadvantage  worth  consideration. 

Metternich. 

Noticed  and  approved. 

Francis. 

Vienna,  December  27,  1821. 


561 


THE  PRINCE  DE  GARIONAF'S  SHARE  IN  THE  RE- 
VOLUTIONARY INTRIGUES  IN  PIEDMONT. 

Metternich  to  Zichy,  in  Berlin,  and  to  Lebzeltern,  in 
St.  Petei'sburg,  Vienna,  December  6,  1821. 

557.  His  Majesty's  ministers  should  be  informed 
that  the  Provisional  Government  in  Piedmont  have  been 
occupied  in  carefully  collecting  exact  data  concerning 
the  part  which  the  Prince  de  Carignan  is  supposed  to 
have  taken  in  the  revolution  in  that  country  ;  that  the 
result  of  this  inquiry  is  very  unfavourable  to  the  Prince, 
who  is  seriously  compromised  by  the  depositions  of 
several  rebel  officers  ;  but  that,  nevertheless,  there  is 
not  sufficient  positive  evidence  against  him  to  bring  him 
within  the  power  of  the  law.  These  data  have  been 
corroborated  to  me  on  my  return  from  Hanover,  by 
Baron  de  Binder,  who  is  here  on  leave.  The  conver- 
sations which  I  have  had  with  that  ambassador,  while 
leaving  me  no  doubt  on  this  head,  have  at  the  same 
time  enabled  me  to  see  clearly  enough  that  King 
Carlo  FeHce,  who  seems  convinced  of  the  cruilt  of  the 
Prince  de  Carignan,  has  not  given  up  the  idea  of 
removing  him  from  the  succession  to  the  throne,  which 
he  wishes  to  secure  for  his  own  son  by  a  pragmatic 
sanction.  I  am  even  afraid,  from  the  manner  in  which 
Baron  de  Binder  expressed  himself  in  telling  me  of  the 
project  which  they  attribute  to  his  Sardinian  Majesty, 
that  this  ambassador,  when  he  was  confidentially  con- 
sulted at  Turin,  did  not  pronounce  against  the  project 
VOL.  III.  0  0 


562        THE  REVOLUTION  IN  PIEDMONT. 

as  decidedly  as  he  ought  to  have  done.  This  hesita- 
tion may  have  been  caused  by  the  general  persuasion 
at  Turin,  even  among  individuals  who  are  most  devoted 
to  the  King  and  the  monarchical  cause,  that  the  Prince 
de  Carignan  has  not  held  himself  aloof  from  the 
revolution  in  his  country  ;  that  he  was  led  away  by 
some  young  ambitious  mihtary  men,  who  wished  to 
play  a  part  under  the  sanction  of  his  name  ;  that,  lack- 
ing entirely  both  temper  and  energy,  he  knew  neither 
how  to  restrain  or  direct  them,  and  has  ended  by  dis- 
pleasing all  parties. 

It  is  certain  that  when  the  heir  presumptive  to  the 
throne  is  so  weak  as  to  allow  hi-mself  to  be  dragged 
into  playing  a  part  so  derogatory  to  his  person  and  his 
country,  the  friends  of  the  monarchy  must  dread  the 
moment  when  he  will  be  called  by  Providence  to  reign ; 
we  can  imagine  the  general  fear  at  the  thought  that 
the  Prince  de  Carignan,  when  he  ascends  the  throne, 
will  most  probably  become  the  sport  of  factions  and 
parties,  and  that  his  reign  may  be  the  era  of  new  in- 
ternal troubles.  There  is,  in  fact,  no  doubt  that  the 
accession  of  the  Prince  de  Carignan  to  the  throne,  after 
the  part  he  played  in  the  last  revolution,  may  give  just 
cause  for  anxiety.  But,  without  deceiving  ourselves  on 
this  point,  we  cannot  discover  in  the  fear  of  possible 
or  even  probable  evil,  any  good  reason  for  departing 
from  those  principles  which  the  allied  sovereigns  have 
constantly  professed ;  or  permitting  ourselves  to  pre- 
judge a  question  so  delicate  as  that  of  dej)riving  Prince 
de  Carignan  of  his  right  of  succession  to  the  throne, 
especially  when  there  is  no  substantial  proof  of  his 
guilt,  so  that  he  cannot  legally  be  tried.  It  seems  to 
me  that  the  allied  sovereicrns  have  neither  the  right  nor 
the   power  to  do  so,  and  that  in  arrogating  either  to 


METTEllNICH   TO   ZICHY.  563 

themselves  tliey  would  give  an  example  as  dangerous 
as  it  is  contrary  to  their  principles.  Such  is,  at  least, 
our  opinion  on  this  important  question,  and  as  we 
think  it  well  that  it  should  be  known  to  his  Majesty's 
ministers,  your  Excellency  is  requested  to  allow  this 
dispatch  to  be  read  by  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs.* 

*  See  Nos.  548-550.  We  know  that  the  Prince  de  Carignan  made  use 
of  his  enforced  absence  from  Italy  to  reinstate  himself,  for  he  took  military 
service  under  the  Duke  d'Angouleme  (1823),  and  so  distinguished  himself 
by  personal  bravery  at  the  taking  of  Trocadero — the  most  brilliant  exploit 
of  the  whole  campaign — that  a  reconciliation  took  place  between  the  Prince 
and  King  Carlo  Felice. — Ed. 


O  O  2 


564 


1822. 

COMPLICATIONS   WITH  CAPO  D'ISTMIA  AND 
OTHER  EVENTS. 

Extracts   from   Metternicli's  private  Letters  from  January  5  to 

August  25,  1822. 

668.  Power  of  custom.  659.  The  Vienna  carnival.  560.  Capo  d'lstria's  neg- 
ligence. 561.  Alexander  desires  an  interview  with  Metternich.  562. 
Dispute  between  General  Foy  and  Count  Castelbajac — Metternich's  por- 
trait. 663.  Canova'e  '  Psyche  and  Amor.'  664.  Contest  between  Capo 
d'lstria  and  Metternich.  665.  Capo  d'Istria  to  be  King  of  Greece.  566. 
Tatistscheff  to  Vienna.  567.  His  arrival.  568.  Confusion.  569.  Nego- 
tiations with  Tatistscheff.  670.  State  of  the  Grecian  question.  671. 
Capo  d'lstria's  tactics.  572.  Status  quo.  673.  The  Italian  opera  in  Vienna. 
574.  Interruptions.  575.  Oken's  '  Urschleim.'  576.  Tatistscheft^s  de- 
parture. 577.  Order  for  Neumann.  578.  Five  despatches  at  once — 
'  Des  Seductions  Politiques '  de  Lourdoueix.  579.  The  European  army. 
680.  Charm  of  the  present  position.  581.  Londonderry.  682.  Uncer- 
tainty of  the  arrival  of  the  King  of  England  in  Vienna.  683.  Birthday. 
684.  Disentanglement  of  the  Gordian  knot.  685.  Expectation  of  the 
result.  686.  The  Turks.  687.  Success.  588.  Tatistscheft"s  arrival. 
689.  Anticipated  congress.  690.  Between  Baden  and  Vienna.  691-692. 
Tatistscheff' and  Capo  d'Istria.  693.  The  Emperor  Francis  in  Baden.  694. 
Conclusion  of  the  water-cure.  595.  Capo  d'lstria's  Government.  696. 
German  opera.  697.  The  Emperor  Alexander  comes :  Capo  d'Istria  does 
not.  698.  O'Meara's  work — Napoleon's  characteristics.  599.  Transla- 
tion of  O'Meara's  lecture.  600.  Londonderry's  suicide.  601.  The  same 
continued.     602.  Details  from  Stewart — desire  for  Wellington. 

558.  Vienna,  January  15,  1822. — The  force  of 
habit  is  so  strong  a  power  that  one  may  come  to  take 
pleasure  even  in  privations.  I  can  quite  comprehend 
chat  a  prisoner  to  whom  freedom  is  given  after  twenty 
years  of  confinement  will  feel  quite  strange  in  the  outer 
world  when  he  no  longer  hears  the  rattle  of  his  chains. 


THE   CARNIVAL   AT   VIENNA.  565 

It  is  remarkable  how  little  is  needed  in  order  to  act. 
The  power  comes  of  itself;  will  and  memory  are  all 
that  is  necessary  ;  but  just  for  this  reason  so  few  know 
how  to  act.  That  the  public  thinks  everything  grand 
and  difficult  arises  from  the  way  in  which  the  great  mass 
of  the  people  looks  at  things.  Some  really  think  it  so, 
others  encouracfe  the  delusion  in  order  to  make  them- 
selves  safe  in  case  success  does  not  follow ;  both  these 
classes  are  active,  and  set  great  machines  in  motion  ;  but 
great  machines  are  inconvenient  and  cumbrous  things. 
There  is  always  one  essential  point,  and  one  only  ;  every- 
thing else  is  extraneous.  Hence,  if  we  go  straight  up 
to  it,  attack  it,  destroy  it,  or  use  it  according  to  our 
needs,  the  enormous  structure  will  disappear  like  smoke. 
This  is,  however,  what  most  people  do  not  do  ;  rather, 
they  become  alarmed,  or  they  begin  to  depreciate  the 
importance  of  the  matter,  or  they  attempt  too  much  at 
once,  and  thus  sink  in  the  mud,  and  are  stifled  in  it. 
What,  then,  shall  I  say  of  Capo  d'lstria  ? 

I  remember,  when  I  was  a  boy  of  seven  years  old, 
saying  to  one  of  my  professors,  '  Do  you  know  what  I 
think  about  the  world  ?  The  laws  which  govern  it  go 
exactly  contrary  to  optical  laws  ;  the  closer  you  approach 
objects  in  the  world  the  smaller  they  become.'  My  pro- 
fessor did  not  allow  me  to  pursue  this  theme,  and  broke 
out  in  anger.  '  My  friend,'  said  he,  '  you  speak  like  an 
inexperienced  youth  ;  with  such  principles  you  will 
never  accomplish  anything,  and  will  always  go  wrong.' 

559.  January  11. — The  Court  ball,  which  took 
place  two  days  ago,  gave  me  the  opportunity  of  making 
some  truly  philosophical  if  not  amusing  reflections  on 
the  Vienna  carnival.  There  200  persons  of  both  sexes, 
locked  in  each  other's  arms,  turn  constantly  round  from 
Twelfth  Day  to  Ash  Wednesday ;  so   that   a  sprightly 


566     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

pair  may  in  tliis  time  make  a  distance  of  400  miles, 
while  another  pair  less  nimble  will  perhaps  accomplish 
only  200.  When  at  last  Ash  Wednesday  arrives,  and 
the  dancers  separate,  they  are  greatly  astonished  ,to 
find  themselves  in  the  same  place  from  which  they 
started.  With  us  in  Vienna,  only  our  bodies  turn,  our 
heads  not  so  easily,  and  only  too  frequently  it  happens 
that  the  mothers  sadly  discover  in  Lent  that  the 
vigorous  waltzers  on  whom  her  motherly  eyes  lingered 
with  especial  hope  had  clasped  her  little  daughters  so 
tightly  only  to  make  the  more  sure  of  duly  accomphsh- 
ing  the  400  or  the  200  miles.  As  I  have  nothing  to  do 
with  this  pirouetting,  and  watch  all  the  bustle  very 
calmly.  Lent  brings  me  no  disappointment.  But  yet  I 
find  the  carnival  very  tiresome,  although  I  only  use  my 
legs  to  get  over  the  ground,  for  nothing  is  so  insup- 
portable to  me  as,  a  ball  where  not  a  corner  is  to  be  found 
to  enjoy  a  quiet  chat.  And  this  is  my  destiny  at  the 
fetes  at  which  I  must  be  present.  I  grow  weary  and  fly. 
It  is  really  not  worth  while  to  set  a  whole  orchestra  in 
motion  to  produce  such  an  effect.  There  is  nothing  so 
frightful  as  movement  without  object,  and  noise  without 
interest.  Vienna  is  now  full  of  such  movement  and 
noise.  For  some  time  after  the  ball  I  always  speak  in 
cadences,  and  divide  my  sentences  into  eight  periods, 
just  like  the  waltzes  with  their  eight-time. 

560.  January  21. — The  Eussian  Premier  still  keeps 
us  waiting  for  his  decisions.  What  a  confusion  of  ideas  ! 
How  mischievous  is  his  example  !  How  it  agitates 
men's  minds,  pours  oil  on  the  fire,  and  spoils  the  position  ! 
Since  the  world  began  was  there  ever  such  a  man  ?  And  yet 
he  will  end  just  hke  all  the  others  who  have  gone  before 
him,  but  who  have  not  gone  so  far  as  he  has  by  a  long 
M^ay.     But  this  end,  the  surest  remedy  for  deep-seated 


OOMPLICATrONS   WITH  CAPO  D'ISTRIA.  567 

evils,  will  it  not  come  too  late  ?  And  before  the  dreamer 
is  got  rid  of  many  things  will  have  gone  to  rack  and 
ruin.  That  the  barrier  is  not  yet  demolished  can  only 
be  explained  by  the  equanimity  of  the  Emperor  Alex- 
ander ;  but  is  this  equanimity  sufficient  ?  Will  it  never 
be  broken  through  ? 

Nine-and-twenty  years  ago  to-day  Louis  XyT.  Avas 
executed.  When  I  call  to  mind  the  share  I  then  took 
in  the  world's  affairs,  I  feel  as  if  I  must  be  a  hundred 
years  old. 

661.  January  23. — To-day  I  have  received  very 
interesting  accounts  from  St.  Petersburg,  which  may 
explain  the  relations  between  the  Emperor  Alexander, 
and  myself.  Eeading  alone,  however,  will  not  suffice  ; 
one  must  also  know.  Health  and  disease  can  neither 
be  written  nor  read.  To  judge  of  them  one  must  see 
and  examine.  The  Emperor  Alexander  wishes  very 
much  that  I  should  come  to  him— an  absolute  impos- 
sibility. He  desires  only  a  few  moments,  but  1  am  not 
master  of  a  single  one.  Alexander  is  dying  to  be  rid  of 
the  whole  concern — an  astonishingly  easy  matter,  and 
I  really  think  a  tete-a-tete  of  a  few  days  would  be  suffi- 
cient to  attain  this  end.  But  even  that  short  space  of 
time  is  now  an  impossibility.  Alexander  inquires  how 
then  was  it  possible  for  me  to  go  to  see  the  King 
of  England.  This  question  a  child  might  answer,  but 
the  Emperor  Alexander  is  of  all  children  the  most 
childish. 

Poor  little  Nesselrode  wishes  to  send  Strogonow  to 
Vienna  in  place  of  Golowkin.  He  thinks  I  require  an 
amiable  man.  How  Httle  he  knows  me.  To  get  this 
fancy  out  of  his  head  I  wrote  as  follows  :  '  I  have  liked 
you  for  sixteen  years  ;  I  respect  you  ;  you  possess  my 
confidence.     If  we  meet  we   confide  in  each  other.     I 


568     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

believe  in  you  and  understand  you.  Now,  are  you 
amiable  ?  Not  in  the  least,  and  you  never  make  any 
pretension  to  be  so.  Therefore  I  beg  you  not  to  make 
me  contradict  myself.'  I  do  not  know  that  this  language 
is  amiable.  I  quite  fear  that  it  is  not  so,  but  it  is  to 
the  point. 

662.  February  9. — There  cannot  well  be  anything 
more  scandalous  than  the  debates  in  the  French  Cham- 
bers. What  questions  have  been  raised  there  !  How 
extraordinary  was  the  dispute  between  General  Foy 
and  Count  Castelbajac  on  fidelity.  It  has  been  left  to 
the  French  to  show  that  there  can  be  two  kinds  of  it. 
__The  revolutionists  attach  the  idea  of  place  to  that  of 
fidehty,  while  the  Eoyahsts  connect  it  with  the  person. 
The  latter  are  right,  for  I  may  assert  that  General  Foy 
would  not  pledge  his  fidelity  to  the  bed,  but  to  the 
person,  for  otherwise  any  trifler  would  be  faithful  if  he 
only  always  lay  in  the  same  bed. 

How  can  people  enter  into  such  absurd  discussions  ? 
And  if  anyone  is  so  fortunate  as  to  find  an  opponent 
stupid  enough  to  start  such  a  question,  why  is  he  not 
crushed  with  some  sharp  saying  ?  What  a  capital 
answer  Castelbajac,  the  ex-Bonapartist  general,  might 
have  given  if  he  had  only  repeated  the  compliment 
which  Napoleon  paid  to  Segur  when  he  met  him  in  the 
Tuileries  on  his  return  from  Elba.  When  Segur  assured 
him  of  his  unalterable  fidelity,  '  There  are  two  kinds  of 
fidelity,'  answered  Napoleon  :  '  the  fidelity  of  the  dog  and 
the  fidelity  of  the  cat.  You,  gentlemen,  have  the  fidelity 
of  the  cat,  which  never  forsakes  the  house.'  In  Castel- 
bajac's  place  I  would  have  asked  General  Foy  whether 
he  considers  General  Bertrand  possessed  fidelity  or  not  ? 

One  of  the  most  wretched  coryphcei  of  the  doctrinaire 
party,    Eoyer-Collard,   informs  the  world   that   pubhc 


AMOR   AND   PSYCHE.  569 

liberties  are  '  des  resistances.''  I,  for  my  part,  believe 
that  public  liberties  are  health.  Health  is  a  much  more 
positive  thing  than  mere  resistance  of  death,  which  is  a 
negative  force  ;  a  kind  of  resistance  which  is  only- 
disease,  and  is  therefore  neither  health  nor  death. 
According  to  Koyer-Collard,  an  organised  State  might 
have  arrived  at  the  summit  of  perfection  when  disease 
was  the  basis  of  its  existence  ;  up  to  this  time  I  have 
thought  that  health  was  the  best  regimen,  but  it  seems 
that  I  am  only  an  Obscurantist  or  a  fool.  All  this  non- 
sense talked  in  a  place  which  is  thought  an  Areopagus 
brings  me  to  anger  and  despair.  My  mind  is  disturbed 
by  nothing  so  much  as  by  pretension  to  intellectual 
power  and  its  consequences — impudence,  vanity,  osten- 
tation, senselessness,  and  all  the  absurdities  so  boldly 
brought  forward.  Capo  d'Istria  takes  Eoyer-Collard  for 
a  very  deep  thinker.  I  am  so  convinced  that  he  con- 
siders me  a  blockhead  that  the  conviction  is  the  greatest 
consolation — the  only  one,  too,  which  he  can  give  me. 
If  ever  the  day  comes  that  he  thinks  me  right,  I  shall  be 
inconsolable. 

I  have  had  my  portrait  taken  very  successfully.  I 
have  given  the  original  to  my  mother,  and  am  now 
having  it  copied.  The  workmen  here  are  very  slow, 
and  there  is  no  way  of  pushing  them  on,  because  they 
then  punish  one  by  working  badly. 

663.  February  10. — I  have  just  received  a  group 
in  marble  by  Canova,  and  had  it  put  in  my  pavilion.  It 
is  a  charming  work  of  art,  which  only  troubles  me  in 
one  way — I  do  not  know,  that  is,  what  the  innocent  and 
the  prudish  will  say  to  them.  The  first  probably 
nothing  ;  the  second  a  great  deal.  This  group  was  exe- 
cuted by  Canova  for  Malmaison,  and  I  believe  the  Em- 
peror of  Eussia  has  bought  it.     I  got  Canova  to  make 


570     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

a  copy  of  it  himself.  It  is  one  of  the  most  tender  and 
at  the  same  time  one  of  the  most  vokiptuous  creations 
of  the  artist.  He  has  modelled  the  marble  with  love 
and  grace.  The  group  represents  the  first  kiss  that 
Amor  gave  to  Psyche,  and  the  two  children  kiss  as  if 
they  had  never  done  anything  else.  But  whenever  the 
very  pure  and  innocent  visit  me  I  must  hang  a 
dressing-gown  round  Amor  and  throw  a  sheet  over 
Psyche  ;  except  on  such  occasions,  however,  I  will  leave 
them  in  their  simple  god-like  forms.  If  these  charming 
creatures  did  not  w^eigh  three-and  twenty  hundred- 
weight I  would  have  them  set  on  rollers  ;  but  they  are 
immoveable,  and  consequently  faithful,  like  the  cats  and 
General  Foy.  I  am  delighted  to  think,  therefore,  that, 
in  spite  of  his  wings.  Amor  can  never  leave  my  house. 
These  wings  are  a  true  work  of  art.  In  Eome  there 
is  an  artist  who  only  makes  wings  ;  the  first  sculptors 
employ  him,  and  it  is  quite  extraordinary  how  delicately 
he  handles  the  marble. 

564.  February  22. — The  famous  courier  from  St. 
Petersburg  has  arrived,  and  he  does  not  fall  short  of 
his  predecessors,  for  he  brings  me  only  senseless  double- 
meaning  phrases,  injurious  to  those  who  wrote  them, 
having  no  relation  to  facts,  and  in  thorough  contradic- 
tion to  all  that  lies  before  one's  eyes  :  full  of '  nonsense ' 
and  badly  written  ;  the  outcome  of  all  this  rigmarole 
is — nothing.  So,  as  I  always  said,  this  '  nothing '  is  not 
war,  for  war  is  something.  It  is  not  necessary  to  trouble 
one's  head  much  to  understand  that,  and,  as  I  am  in  the 
right  after  all,  there  is  in  this  feeling  a  great  compensa- 
tion for  many  annoyances. 

My  answer  will  be,  that  I  will  not  answer  ;  and  of 
all  answers  that  is  the  most  decided.  On  this  occasion 
as  on  so  many  others,  facts  must  speak  for  themselves, 


ALI  PASHA'S  REQUEST.  571 

and  they  have  mostly  quite  another  power  than  mere 
words.  The  misuse  of  words  is  a  misfortune  of  our 
age.  The  perfection  of  man's  wit  will  not  succeed  in 
building  even  a  hut  with  mere  words,  and  the  most 
eloquent  phrases  will  never  shelter  anyone  from  the 
rain  though  he  may  take  refuge  under  a  whole  thesis. 
Capo  d'Istria,  too,  will  be  wet  to  the  skin — that  I  will 
answer  for.  The  struggle  between  Capo  dlstria  and  me 
is  like  the  conflict  between  a  positive  and  a  negative 
force.  Forces  of  like  nature  would  neutralise  each 
other  ;  and  thus  neither  of  them  can  prevail  as  long  as 
one  of  them  is  not  used  up  by  friction.  Now,  I  do  not 
feel  myself  to  have  lost  either  weight  or  size ;  but  for 
such  a  contest  what  patience  is  needed  I 

565.  March  3. — Among  the  amusing  incidents  of 
the  time  is  what  has  happened  to  the  Emperor  Francis. 
He  has  received  a  letter  with  the  signature  '  from  a 
friend,'  inviting  him  to  propose  Capo  d'Istria  as  King  of 
Greece.  That  Capo  d'Istria  himself  has  no  share  in  this 
I  am  convinced,  for  he  thinks  only  of  a  republic.  But 
this  absurd  step  is  significant  of  his  friends.  I  at  any 
rate  would  give  my  vote  for  his  being  placed  on  the 
throne,  for  he  would  be  certainly  much  better  placed 
there  than  where  he  is.    . 

A  remarkable  request  has  been  made  to  me,  which 
I  should  have  mentioned  before.  Ali  Pasha,  of  Janina, 
sent  to  me — when  he  found  his  possessions  limited  to 
that  town,  and  was  in  daily  fear  of  his  rebellion  against 
the  Porte  coming  to  an  end — a  confidential  messenger 
with  a  letter  in  which,  with  many  pompous  commen- 
dations, he  requested  that  I  would  send  him  a  '  Con- 
stitution-maker.' Exclusively  occupied  with  the  welfare 
of  his  subjects,  he  had  discovered  tliat  the  best  security 
for  the  happiness  of  his  people  lay  in  the  bestowal  of  a 


572     EXTRACTS  FROM  METTERNICH'S  PRIVATE  LETTERS. 

Constitution ;  that  lie  was  convinced  of  this,  but  did  not 
know  what  a  Constitution  really  is,  and  therefore  begged 
me  to  tell  him  of  a  person  experienced  in  the  matter. 
I  gave  the  confidential  messenger,  a  quite  uncultivated 
Albanian  merchant,  my  answer  to  the  Pasha ;  it  contained, 
in  a  very  few  words,  the  assurance  that  I  had  no  '  Consti- 
tution-maker '  at  my  disposal,  but  that,  since  AH  Pasha 
did  not  himself  knoAV  what  a  Constitution  is,  I  begged  to 
advise  him,  in  gratitude  for  the  confidence  reposed  in 
me,  that  the  best  Constitution  for  the  Pashalic  would 
be  subjection  to  the  Porte. 

Janina  had  fallen  before  the  Pasha's  messenger  re- 
turned to  him.* 

566.  March  5. — The  bomb  has  burst ;  it  Avas  filled 
with  cotton-wool.  I  have  this  day  received  a  courier 
from  Lebzeltern  informing  me  of  TatistschefTs  arrival.. 

Since  no  one  knows  what  is  to  be  done  when  the 
magazine  of  follies  is  exhausted,  it  is  now  desired  to 
explain  them.  The  man  was  chosen  who  came  first  to 
hand,  for  the  simple  reason  that  in  Eussia  nothing  is  so 
rare  as  a  man.  The  expressions  of  the  Emperor  Alex- 
ander to  myself  personally  leave  nothing  to  be  desired. 
My  despatch  of  January  28  to  Lebzeltern  f  has  caused 
the  bursting  of  the  gun.  It  was  certainly  composed  for 
that  purpose,  and  the  moment  evidently  was  not  badly 
chosen. 

Now  the  affair  will  go  ofi"!  It  is  time  too.  In  what 
a  position  is  the  Emperor  Alexander  !  Since  the  world 
began  nothing  can  be  compared  to  the  incredible  cha- 
racter of  his  proceedings,  and  one  will  never  be  old 
enough  not  to  live  to  see  things  which  the  boldest  ima- 
gination could  with  difficulty  conceive. 

•  It  is  well  known  that  Ali  Pasha  had  been  executed  February  5,  1822, 
by  Kurschid  Pasha,  and  his  head  sent  to  Constantinople,  which  caused  great 
rejoicing  there, — Ed.  t  See  No.  615. — Ed. 


NEGOTIATIONS  WITH  TATISTSCHEFF.  673 

567.  March  6. — Tatistscheff  has  arrived.  I  saw 
him,  and  I  hope  that  Capo  d'lstria  will  be  considered 
wrong.  He  is  wrong  before  God,  but  he  must  also  be 
so  before  man.* 

668.  March  8. — I  am  now  fighting  with  Tatistscheff. 
The  good  man  is  just  hke  an  eel.  Happily,  I  am  an  old 
fisherman  ! 

Since  the  fall  of  Carthage  no  affair  has  been  con- 
ducted hke  this  one.  It  is  extraordinary  that  we  must 
always  be  asking  if  people  are  misleading  one,  if  they 
will  fail  one  or  act  serviceably,  what  they  will  do, 
or  what  they  will  not  do.  Hence  an  Areopagus  of  the 
most  loyal,  upright,  and  far-seeing  men  of  all  times 
have  to  lose  themselves  in  useless  hypotheses.  In 
the  midst  of  all  this,  I  have  the  feeling  of  not  being 
mistaken  myself,  and  of  being  able  to  point  out  what 
seems  undefinable. 

At  any  rate,  I  shall  do  nothing  to  embarrass  the 
matter  still  further  ;  I  feel,  indeed,  that  I  shall  clear  up 
many  things.  .  .  .  Whether  anything  happens  or  not 
will  be  decided  by  the  small  words  Yes  or  No.  I  do 
not  know  a  prettier  word  than  the  French  oui^  and 
much  prefer  it  to  the  German  ja,  which  stretches  the 
mouth  so  terribly. 

669.  March  11. — I  am  working  at  some  despatches 
and  endeavouring  to  make  my  standpoint  clear  to  the 
gentlemen.  I  think  it  is  a  good  one,  and  unless  I  am 
much  deceived,  I  shall  bring  the  affair  to  a  conclusion. 

If  anyone  could  have  overheard  my  conversation 
with  Tatistscheff,  he  must  think  one  of  two  things — 
either  there  was  a  wish  to  deceive  me,  or  in  his  country 
it   is   not   known  what  is  desirable  or  feasible.      The 

*  See  Nos.  616-621.— Ed. 


574    EXTRACTS  FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE  LETTERS. 

former  would  be  too  absurd  to  take  into  consideration  ; 
the  latter  is  so  in  harmony  with  my  knowledge  of  the 
couniry  that  without  hesitation  I  adopt  it  as  correct. 

Tatistscheff  must  think  that  I  am  accessible  to  flat- 
tery, for  he  stuffs  the  censer  right  under  my  nose.  But 
when  one  has  lived  so  long  as  I  have,  one's  nose  is  not 
very  sensitive. 

670.  March  22. — I  have  been  two  days  fighting 
with  the  storm.  In  Greece  they  begin  to  be  furious. 
Between  Greece  and  Russia  there  is  just  now  a  relation 
hke  that  expressed  by  a  certain  Gascon  nobleman :  '  If 
you  go  forward,  I  will  go  back  ;  but  take  care  !  for  if 
you  go  back,  I  shall  step  forward.'  This  is  the  state  of 
the  affair,  thanks  to  the  Russian  Premier.  Although  the 
thing  will  blow  away  like  so  much  dust,  yet  it  annoys 
me.     Bad  things   occupy  me  day  and  night,  while  the 

.good  take  but  moments.  Capo  d'Istria  and  a  moment ! 
That  does  not  rhyme.  If  I  had  to  read  through  all  that 
I  have  written  during  the  last  ten  years,  I  should  cer- 
tainly need  four  years  and  more  for  the  work. 

671.  March  27. — Capo  dlstria  wastes  his  life  in 
trying  to  shove  me  to  one  side.  After  some  months 
lost  for  the  peace  of  the  world,  the  Emperor  Alexander 
in  despair  clapped  both  hands  to  his  head,  and  came 
to  me  with  the  request  that  T  would  put  its  contents  to 
rights  for  him.  And  this  is  the  case  again  to-day. 
Capo  d'Istria  knows  better  than  any  man  in  the  world 
how  to  complicate  an  affair,  and  the  present  one  is  so 
complicated  that  the  Emperor  Alexander  can  neither 
move  backwards  nor  forwards.  Since  the  month  of 
June  I  have  foreseen  the  thing,  and  even  the  very  day 
when  the  head  would  again  be  brought  for  me  to  put 
in  order.  To-day,  too,  I  must  again  begin  the  same 
labour  which   falls  to  me   in  every  great  affair.     The 


ITALIAN   OPERA   AT   VIENNA.  575 

whole  tiling  only  commences  to-day.  Capo  d'Istria  has 
the  fault  of  certain  authors,  who  write  an  interminable 
preface  before  they  touch  the  real  subject  of  their  work. 
The  reader  then  expects  something  which  he  does  not 
find  in  it :  and  inquires,  at  the  conclusion  of  the  work, 
for  what  purpose  the  preface  was  intended. 

The  Emperor  Alexander  is  certainly  self-willed,  but 
one  must  not  forget  that  this  self-will  of  his  is  of  a 
grand  style. 

572.  April  3. — The  affair  is  to-day  as  it  was  nine 
months  ago.  I  can  now  see  thoroughly  through  Ta- 
tistscheff.  I  know  all  there  is  in  the  man.  Unhappily, 
I  find  there  many  empty  spaces — which  the  good  man 
imagines  to  be  full.  If  people  think  to  play  the  cun- 
ning with  me,  they  are  mistaken.  This,  however,  has 
not  been  the  case.  The  Emperor  Alexander  wants  to 
find  his  way  in  a  labyrinth,  and  begs  the  clue  from  his 
old  Ariadne. 

573.  Ajyril  8. — What  a  good  episode  m  my  hfe  is 
the  estabhshment  of  the  Italian  opera  here  ;  it  has  at 
last  succeeded,  and  I  have  gained  a  real  and  great 
victory. 

I  have  been  present  at  a  rehearsal  of  '  Zelmira.' 
Everything  in  it  is  good  :  the  music  and  the  singers,  and 
David  is  the  first  singer  of  his  kind.  He  unites  every- 
thing :  a  beautiful  tenor  voice  with  a  depth  and  a  com- 
pass that  gives  on  the  one  hand  the  very  idea  and 
essence  of  manhood,  and  on  the  other  has  nothing  of  it. 
He  takes,  without  effort,  the  upper  C  with  the  natural 
voice,  and  goes  down  with  ease.  His  method  is  un- 
rivalled, and  his  execution  perfect  ;  in  a  word,  he  leaves 
nothing  to  be  desired  ;  and  there  are  few  things  in  this 
world  on  which  I  could  venture  to  pronounce  such  a 
judgment. 


576     EXTRACTS  FROM  METTERNICH'S  PRIVATE  LETTERS. 

In  the  months  of  April,  May,  June,  and  July,  we 
shall  have  '  Zelmh'a,'  '  Corradino,'  '  Moses,'  '  Ehsabetta,* 
by  Eossini  ;  a  httle  opera  hufia  by  GeneraU ;  and 
'  Gabriella  di  Vergy,'  by  Carafa.  The  troupe  consists, 
besides  Colbrand  (now  Madame  Eossini),  of  a  charming 
singer,  Ekerlin,  who  bears  a  German  name ;  beside 
Mombelli,  David,  Nazzari,  Botticelli,  Ambrogio,  who  are 
all  one  better  than  another — with  the  exception  of  David, 
who  surpasses  them  all.  At  the  head  of  all  is  Eossini 
himself,  with  an  orchestra  and  chorus  which  astonish 
everyone.  It  may  be  supposed  what  delight  this  gives 
to  a  melomaniac  like  me.  There  are  moments  when 
the  sunbeams  penetrate  the  darkness  of  my  prison,  and 
so  I  feel  most  thoroughly. 

674.  April  9. — My  workroom  is  always  like  a 
headquarters.  Every  moment  brings  a  new  interrupter, 
and  if  work  wearies  me,  still  more  do  these  perpetual 
interruptions.  Habit  does  much  for  most  things,  and  I 
possess  that  of  not  losing  the  thread  which  is  every 
moment  broken,  but  my  head  suffers  very  much  in 
consequence.  There  are  times  when  my  poor  head  is 
so  tired  that  I  long  to  lay  it  down  anywhere  alone  and 
sleep. 

575.  April  11. —  ...  I  suffer,  too,  from  some 
follies,  one  of  which  is  the  sea.  I  love  it  as  I  love 
few  things  ;  it  seems  to  me  always  so  beautiful,  and 
it  is  a  real  misfortune  for  me  to  be  obliged  to  live  so 
far  from  the  sea.  And  I  cannot  look  from  a  bridge 
into  the  water  without  longing  to  jump  in,  but  cer- 
tainly not  from  despair,  for  that  is  a  feehng  I  do  not 
know  ;  I  never  despair,  probably  because  my  hopes  are 
not  too  elevated.  My  folly  is  the  water,  which  I  love 
immensely.  One  of  our  principal  German  Eadical 
professors  has  lately   published  a   work   in  which   he 


DEPARTURE   OF   TATISTSCHEFF.  577 

attempts  to  show  tliat  men  proceed   from  water — i.e. 
that  we  were  fish,  and  in  time  became  men.* 

676.  Tatistscheff  is  going  back  to  St.  Petersburg. 
I  do  not  know  what  more  I  can  say  to  him  ;  if  he  has 
not  understood  me,  it  is  not  my  fault :  but  I  feel  as  if  he 
had  understood  me.  I  have  persuaded  Tatistscheff  to 
have  his  portrait  taken — not  because  I  want  to  have  it 
particularly,  but  to  let  the  painter  (Daffinger)  make 
fifty  ducats  by  it.     It  is  a  very  good  likeness. 

577.  April  19. — I  have  obtained  an  order  for 
Neumann  ;  it  will  please  him,  because  it  will  show  that 
I  do  not  forget  him.  The  order  cannot  give  him  a 
larger  footing  in  the  world. f  Tatistscheff  has  just  en- 
tered his  travelling  carriage.  To  me  his  departure  is  a 
weight  off  my  heart.  I  have  gladly  laid  aside  business. 
Tatistscheff,  too,  has  gone  off  very  well  pleased  with  me, 
which  is,  at  any  rate,  better  than  the  contrary.  Capo 
dlstria  will  not  agree,  but  how  can  one  content  the 
man? 

578.  April  21. — If  I  have  to  send  off  one  courier 
I  must  always  send  five.  To  all  I  say  the  same  thing, 
it  is  true,  but  to  be  understood  I  must  speak  to  each 
one  in  his  own  tongue.  Only  Capo  dlstria  is,  in  this 
respect,  quite  peculiar  :  since  he  speaks  in  order  not  to 
be  understood,  he  has  no  occasion  for  refinements  of 
meaning  ;  and  never  saying  what  he  does  mean,  he  also 
never  says  what  he  does  not  mean.  That  is  the  whole 
secret  of  these  famous  apocalypses.  Two  months  ago 
an  excellent  work  appeared  in  Paris,  '  Des  Seductions 
Politiques,'  by  Lourdoueix,  a  friend  of  mine — according 
to  my  ideas,  the  best  history  of  the  time  that  has  yet 
been  written.  There  is  not  in  it  one  assertion  to  which 
I  would  not  have  subscribed. 

*    Urschleim,  by  Oken  (?). — Ed,        f  Neumann  had  very  large  feet. — Ed. 
VOL.  III.  P  P 


578     EXTRACTS  FROM    METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

579.  April  20. — I  have  news  of  Tatistsclieff.  He 
has  met  a  courier  (Russian)  destined  for  London,  where 
people  will  be  frightened  to  death  when  they  hear  a 
European  army  spoken  of !  The  concern  hangs  together 
by  means  of  a  conspiracy  formed  by  Capo  d'lstria, 
Strogonow,  and  Pozzo  di  Borgo.  About  this  conspiracy 
I  care  nothing ;  I  will  break  it  up.  The  triumvirate 
may  divide  the  world  between  them  :  one  shall  under- 
take Eastern,  another  Western  Europe,  and  the  third 
shall,  according  to  the  plan,  hover  equally  over  the 
whole.     And  in  the  midst  is  the  Emperor  Alexander  ! 

To  prevent  the  shrieks  of  Jupiter  being  heard  by 
Saturn,  care  was  taken  that  his  cradle  should  be  sur- 
rounded by  drums.  Here  the  opposite  has  been  done  ; 
the  joke  is,  however,  too  bad. 

580.  May  4. — Yesterday  and  the  greater  part  of 
to-day  I  have  been  in  Eisenstadt.  Its  glass-houses  are 
some  of  the  finest  in  Europe.  Yesterday  evening  we 
had  a  concert  there.  In  that  enormous  mansion  the 
company  consisted  of  only  six  persons.  I  do  not  un- 
derstand why  I  hear  nothing  from  Paul  Esterhazy. 
Londonderry  will  not  know  what  to  do,  nor  Wel- 
hngton ;  they  both  wait  till  they  know  what  I  have 
done,  or  will  not  do.  Thus  do  people  endeavour  to 
gain  time  ;  and  this  is  no  great  evil,  for  it  is  better  to 
make  no  use  of  the  passing  day  if  it  is  not  clear  what 
ought  to  be  done  in  it.  Certain  it  is  that  out  of  Vienna 
no  one  knows  how  the  affair  really  stands.  Does  any- 
one think  Capo  dTstria  knows?  Not  in  the  least — no 
more  than  the  Grand  Vizier  !  Does  anyone  think  the 
Emperor  Alexander  is  better  informed  ?  God  forbid  ! 
All  wish  something,  without  knowing  how  the  thing  is 
to  be  got  hold  of ;  and  the  peculiar  charm  of  the 
position   is  that  no  one  knows  exactly  how  what  he 


THE   QUESTION   OF   INTERVENTION.  579 

wants  is  to  be  attained.  I  know  what  I  want,  and 
what  the  others  are  able  to  perform.  I  am  thoroughly 
armed ;  my  sword  is  drawn  and  my  pen  mended  ; 
my  thoughts  are  bright  and  clear  as  a  crystal 
spring,  while  many  people  are  now  wading  in  turbid 
waters. 

581.  May  8. — A  courier  with  despatches  from 
Esterhazy  has  arrived  to-day.  It  has  happened  in 
London  just  as  I  expected.  The  good  people  have 
fallen  into  a  panic  of  fear.  The  difference  between 
Londonderry  and  me  is  that  he  does  not  know,  as  I  do, 
what  the  Emperor  Alexander  wants,  and  what  Capo 
dlstria  does  not  want.  What  the  Emperor  Alexander 
may  do  is  something  different,  because  Capo  d'lstria 
cannot  be  prevented  from  entangling  him  in  a  net,  and 
setting  him  up  to  his  neck  in  the  mud.  Londonderry 
does  not  know  all  this,  because  he  has  not  been  much 
in  contact  with  the  Emperor  Alexander.  Many  things 
in  this  world  must  be  seen  to  be  believed,  and  then,  too, 
one  must  have  good  eyes  to  see  that  which  really  does 
exist.  Our  last  views  on  the  Spanish  question  of  in- 
tervention must  be  well  received  in  London.*  But  Lon- 
donderry will  never  understand  the  gist  of  the 
matter  rightly,  which  is  this,  that  the  Emperor 
Alexander  will  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  Turkish 
question,  and  Capo  d'lstria  is  horrified  at  the  Spanish 
question.  Capo  d'lstria  takes  up  the  latter  as  a  means 
of  forcing  the  Emperor  Alexander  into  the  former.    He 

*  The  following  may  serve  to  elucidate  tlie  matter.  Tlie  King  of  Naples, 
to  please  his  nephew,  the  King  of  Spain,  had  applied  to  the  allied  Courts  in 
order  that  these  Powers  might  he  induced  to  unite  to  protect  the  throne  and 
people  of  Spain  from  the  threatened  catastrophe.  Russia  was  prepared  for 
intervention,  hut  only  under  the  condition  that  this  should  he  carried  out 
by  a  European  army,  to  which  the  five  Powers  should  fua-nish  contingents. 
Prince  Metternich  declared  this  condition  inadmissible  and  impracticable. — 
Ed. 

P  P  2 


580     EXTRACTS  FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

now  writes  all  his  Eeports  in  the  following  extra- 
ordinary form :  '  You  see  that  the  Emperor  Alexander 
is  going  wrong  ;  he  is  going  to  meet  ruin,  and  you  will 
go  with  him.  You  have  only  to  choose  between  two 
evils  ;  I  beg  of  you,  therefore,  to  choose  the  less.' 

Again,  another  case,  in  which  Londonderry  and  I 
go  quite  different  ways.  He  breathes  fire  and  flames  ; 
but  I  say,  '  Very  well ;  come  now,  we  will  talk  the 
matter  over.'  Londonderry  will  have  a  memorandum 
written  to  point  out  that  what  is  absurd  cannot  be 
reasonable.  I,  on  the  contrary,  think  it  sufficient  to 
send  quite  a  little  card  of  invitation,  in  which  certainly 
'  an  answer  will  oblige  '  is  not  left  out.  Under  these 
circumstances  Capo  d'Istria  may  say  to  his  master  :  '  See 
what  people  you  have  to  do  with  !  Propose  what  you 
may,  you  will  never  get  hold  of  them ;  while  you  (the 
Emperor)  will  always  be  caught.  Give  up  your  friend- 
ship for  their  system,  which  is  only  an  absurdity.  Let 
every  man  bake  his  own  cake,  and  do  you  bake  yours. 
Let  us  go  forward  :  fame  and  glory  await  us  in 
Constantinople.' 

Now,  if  anything  can  save  the  Emperor  Alexander 
and  the  cause  of  sound  manly  sense,  it  will  be  the  card 
of  invitation,  and  not  the  memorandum. 

I  do  not  know  whether  I  am  a  fool,  but  certainly  I 
am  surrounded  by  them.  It  would  be  only  polite  of 
me  to  become  a  fool  too — if  I  am  not  one  already. 

582.  May  13.— Whether  the  King  of  England 
will  really  come  here  I  do  not  know.  Stewart  writes 
to  me  that  he  does  not  quite  beheve  it,  and  he  may  be 
right. 

The  decision  is  close  at  hand.  On  April  30  Tatist- 
scheff  arrived  at  St.  Petersburg.  My  last  news  are 
down  to  the  29th.     The  next  will  bring  the  disclosure. 


THE   QUESTION   OF   INTERVENTION.  581 

I  send  this,  however,  without  waiting,  by  a  fresh 
courier,  with  some  rather  interesting  accounts  from 
Greece.  Capo  d'Istria  is  wroth  with  me,  whicli  I  think 
very  natural  He  comphiins  tliat  in  my  thoughts  I 
separate  him  from  the  Emperor,  ahhough  they  are 
always  one.  As  proof  of  this.  Capo  d'Istria  assured 
Nesselrode  that  the  Emperor  desires  something  quite 
different  from  what  he  desires  ;  and  this  they  call 
logic. 

583.  May  15. — Against  this  day  (my  birthday), 
without  which  I  should  not  have  been,  I  have  only  one 
charge  to  bring — that  it  akeady  has  taken  with  it  a 
great  number  of  years. 

According  to  my  latest  news  from  Lebzeltern,  affairs 
go  on  strangely  in  St.  Petersburg,  but  not  badly.  1 
say  not  badly,  because  the  Emperor  Alexander  deserves 
something  different  from  his  minister.  How  can  these 
two  people  hang  together  so  long  ?  All  the  world  is 
astonished  at  it  but  me. 

684.  May  20. — I  have  prepared  a  long  and 
difficult  work  for  Turkey,  where  they  begin  to  go  on 
quite  tolerably.  If  the  Gordian  knot  is  disentangled,  I 
may  flatter  myself  with  having  accomplished  a  very 
great  work  quite  alone. 

686.  May  22. — I  am  now  in  a  most  extraordinary 
position.  I  have  nothing  to  do.  I  await  results  on 
all  sides,  and  hence  I  have  not  to  talk  or  write  to 
anyone.  However,  I  am  not  dull ;  I  am  like  old 
Kaunitz,  who,  when  the  beautiful  Madame  de  Witt 
said  to  "him  that  she  did  not  know  what  dulness  was, 
answered,  '  I  have  this  in  common  with  you,  Madame, 
that  I  am  not  dull  myself,  but  I  suffer  much  from  the 
dulness  of  others.'  Not  to  be  dull  and  to  enjoy  are 
two  very  different  things.     Separated  from  my  family, 


582     EXTRACTS  FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

I  have  no  family  life,  to  which  the  greatest  pleasures  of 
life  belong.  I  have  indeed  my  two  gardens,  the  sun, 
and  the  Italian  Opera,  which  is  certainly  something,  but 
yet  not  happiness. 

I  often  make  parties  to  the  country,  which  always 
consist  of  fourteen  or  eighteen  persons.  The  neigh- 
bourhood of  Vienna  offers  many  occasions  for  such 
excursions  ;  it  is  only  necessary  to  drive  a  mile  [Ger- 
man] in  any  direction  to  find  oneself  in  a  beautiful 
country.  It  is  a  good  side  of  society  here  that  all  feel 
in  the  same  family  circle.  If  a  stranger  joins  the  party, 
he  feels  hke  a  child  of  the  house ;  he  has  no  need 
to  think  what  he  will  do  —  others  do  that  for  him. 
Politics  are  always  kept  at  a  distance  and  nothing 
reminds  one  of  them,  unless  it  be  the  occurrence  of  some 
great  event.  To-day  I  go  to  bed  without  being  sleepy, 
and  I  will  read  two  or  three  chapters  of  Livy,  which  I 
have  already  gone  through  five  or  six  times.  I  thus 
take  rest  from  the  scribbling  of  Abbe  de  Pradt  and 
Company. 

686.  May  26. — I  have  news  of  the  Turks ;  these 
people  are  not  so  stupid  as  the  world  believes  or  might 
believe,  and  as  many  wish  to  make  one  believe.  I  have 
reports  from  St.  Peterburg  which  shew  me  that  I  am 
not  mistaken.  On  the  contrary,  I  see  that  I  have 
judged  my  people  well,  and  more  cannot  be  required 
of  me.  Capo  dTstria  is  quite  calm  again,  and,  moreover, 
will  ruin  himself.  I  accept  no  miracles  now,  but  if  I 
must  do  so,  I  would  admit  that  Capo  dTstria  is  stronger 
than  nature. 

My  accounts  from  St.  Petersburg  come  down  to 
the  11th.  In  the  Cabinet  the  contest  has  begun,  which 
was  sure  to  happen,  because  I  knew  what  I  was  doing. 
I  am   certain  that  the  Emperor  Alexander  has   never 


VICTORY   OF   THE   AUSTRIAN   CABINET.  583 

heard  the  language  of  his  country  spoken  with  sucli 
sincerity  as  I  have  caused  him  to  hear  it  through 
Tatistscheff.  Since  Capo  d'Istria  does  not  speak  this  lan- 
guage, since,  on  the  contrary,  he  uses  a  language  foreign 
to  the  country  and  to  its  interests,  a  conflict  must  take 
place — a  conflict  which  will  end  only  mth  the  one  or 
the  other  party.  '  The  pure  language  of  reason  must  at 
last  prevail.  If  ever  there  be  a  liquidation  in  Eussia, 
we  shall  see  a  moral  bankruptcy,  such  as  History  has 
never  seen  ;  that  bankruptcy  will  bring  with  it  the 
most  natural  and  truest  interests  of  Eussia.  If  this 
failure  of  the  leading  ideas  of  the  day  occurs — and  it 
must  occur — I  shall  have  proved  to  the  world  what  the 
will  of  one  man  can  do,  a  will  which  rests  on  the 
simplest  basis  of  common  sense. 

587.  May  31. — A  courier  fi'om  Lebzeltern  has 
arrived  during  the  last  week.  The  suit  is  won,  and  that 
so  thoroughly  tliat  perhaps  no  one  else  knows  that  it 
has  taken  place.* 

Tatistschefl"  returns  in  a  few  days.  The  Emperor 
Alexander  has  received  all  my  Eeports  ;  Capo  dTstria  is 
ready  ;  Eussia  plays  a  wretched  part.  Therefore  I 
will  show  that  I  can  be  a  prudent,  ^vise,  and  firm 
friend.  I  will  do  for  the  Emperor  Alexander  what  the 
fools  and  rogues  have  not  been  able  to  do.  I  do  not 
to-day  think  of  Austria  :  that  is  not  necessary ;  one  must 
help  those  who  need  it,  and  therefore  come  to  the  help 
of  the  Emperor  Alexander.  But  what  people  they  are 
in  St.  Petersburg  !  Mere  masks  that  must  be  known  to 
know  what  they  hide.  The  following  maxim,  taught 
me  by  experience,  has  to-day  been  again  verified  :  Not 
romance,  but  history  ;  not  belief,  but  knowledge. 

•  See  '  Victory  of  the  Austrian  Cabinet,'  Nos.  622-626. 


584  EXTRACTS  FRo:\t  metternich's  private  letters. 

I  can  imagine  the  face  that  Londonderry  makes  at 
it.  He  must  feel  as  happy  as  a  man  who  is  going  down 
under  an  avalanche.  He  is  a  fool  if  he  does  not  consent 
to  what  I  have  proposed,  which,  moreover,  everyone 
must  do  who  has  honourable  feeling  and  honest  views. 
Equilibrium  would  othermse  be  destroyed,  which  would 
enormously  increase  the  evils.  Capo  dTstria  does  now 
what  he  did  during  the  Neapohtan  question  :  he  is  silent. 
There  are  times  when  confused  ideas  and  wiredrawn 
phrases  only  cause  delay,  but  bring  no  consequences ; 
other  times,  again,  when  they  bring  ruin  and  disgrace 
— and  such  a  time  is  the  present. 

588.  June  11. — Tatistscheff  has  just  arrived.  I  will 
meet  him,  because  I  want  to  know  how  the  weather- 
cock stands  ;  then  I  will  return  to  my  moral  repose. 

689.  June  14. — I  have  despatches  from  St.  Peters- 
burg and  London ;  the  first  are  very  plain,  for  they  put 
the  whole  affair  in  my  hands. 

The  Emperor  Alexander  will  be  w^th  us  in  the 
beginning  of  September.  I  hope  Londonderry  has 
courage  enough  to  come,  but  I  foresee  that  he  will 
hesitate ;  the  reasons  for  his  coming  are,  however,  so 
weighty  that  his  non-appearance  would  be  a  folly :  a 
sad  but  true  word.  He  will  receive  from  Eussia  and 
Berlin  the  same  invitation  as  from  us. 

In  St.  Petersburg  they  are  astonished  that  Tatist- 
scheff should  for  once  have  taken  the  straig-ht  road  :  he 
foUows  the  direction  of  his  own  interests,  and  follows  it 
well,  because  he  is  a  cunning  fellow.  What  few  people 
understand  is  the  advantage  which  can  be  taken  of 
cunning  people ;  I,  for  my  part,  have  never  feared 
them  even  if  they  are  clever.  As  an  opponent, 
only  a  thoroughly  honourable  man  is  difficult  to  con- 
quer. 


CAPO   D'ISTRIA.  585 

There  is  an  enormous  difference  between  rowing  and 
steering.  How  many  statesmen  have  mistaken  their 
business — so  many  take  the  oar  whose  business  is  with 
the  rudder  !  Everything  in  this  world  is  but  a  '  simple 
story,'  *  and  one  may  be  sure  that  the  more  intricate 
a  matter  looks  the  simpler  it  really  is.  I  am  a  man 
not  at  all  stiff-necked,  but  very  persevering  ;  nothing 
will  make  me  deviate  from  my  principles,  and  there- 
fore I  am  an  extremely  inconvenient  minister  to  my 
opponents. 

690.  Baden,  June  17. — I  came  here  yesterday 
evening.  Tatistscheff  followed  me  to-day.  We  go 
backwards  and  forwards  between  Vienna  and  Baden 
without  making  a  trouble  of  it  on  either  side.  Our 
aim  is  to  save  time,  and  to  do  well  what  must  be  done. 
My  position  again  is  very  remarkable  :  I  am  at  the  centre 
as  the  chief  motive  power  in  an  affair  which  is 
quite  simple,  but  has  been  for  months  embarrassed  by 
unreason  and  unjustifiable  measures.  How  different 
would  everything  have  been  if  my  Eeport  had  been 
accepted  at  first  instead  of  at  last ;  that,  however,  was 
not  Capo  d'Istria's  purpose. 

691.  Vienna,  June  19. — Tatistscheff  is  like  my 
shadow.  I  work,  too,  a  great  deal.  The  Emperor  Alex- 
ander wants  to  know  what  I  think,  and  I  consider  it  my 
duty  to  conceal  nothing  from  him. 

Capo  d'lstria  plays  sometimes  the  part  of  a  mouse  in 
a  hole,  sometimes  that  of  the  watching  cat.  If  the 
affair  is  going  contrary  to  his  wishes,  he  squeaks  in  his 
hole  ;  if  there  are  any  difficulties,  the  cat  shows  her 
claws.  To  behave  so  is  not  worthy  of  a  great  man  who 
has  fifty  milhons  of  men  behind  him. 

*  Refers  no  doubt  to  Mrs.  Inchbald's  Simple   Story,  published  1791. 
— Tr. 


586     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

592.  July  1. — Capo  d'Istria  is  quite  out  of  the  affair, 
but  still  there.  He  counts  on  time,  like  me.  So  far  he 
has  been  mistaken,  but  I  have  not :  he  will  still  go 
wrong,  but  I  pray  God  to  keep  me  from.  that. 

Tatistscheff  feels  the  necessity  of  going  right  so 
strongly  that  he  does  so.  My  talent  has  consisted  in 
bringing  him  to  a  position  from  which  he  cannot 
deviate  without  breaking  his  neck — and  the  good  man 
loves  his  neck. 

593.  Baden,  July  2. — The  Emperor  Francis  arrived 
here  yesterday,  which  is  very  agreeable  to  me,  because 
it  will  save  me  ten  or  twelve  hours  in  the  week.  Like 
me,  he  expects  his  fate  here.  We  shall  know,  in  ten 
days  or  a  fortnight,  what  are  the  intentions  of  the 
Emperor  Alexander.  What  he  intends  we  know,  but 
we  must  learn  the  time  he  proposes.  I  take  the  middle 
of  September  for  the  date  :  I  wish  Londonderry  may 
be  here  by  the  end  of  August.  I  hourly  expect  news 
from  London,  Expectation  is  always  irritating  to  the 
nerves.  Certainty  is  better,  even  if  it  is  not  good.  I 
know  many  people  who  are  contented  to  know  nothing, 
but  who  also  are  never  in  expectation. 

594.  Vienna,  July  15. — All  I  hear  from  St.  Peters- 
burg is  good. 

I  have  completed  my  water-cure  at  Baden.  I  had 
to  stay  for  the  eighteen  days ;  but  I  could  spare  no 
more  time  for  going  into  the  water.  Besides,  the  heat 
is  very  great,  never  below  22  degrees,  often  as  much  as 
30.  The  temperature  exceeds  the  average  temperature 
of  Naples,  so  that  the  vegetation  has  taken  its  departure 
for  the  year  1822.  My  meadows  are  turned  to  hay,  and 
my  trees  to  broomsticks.  Happily,  my  pavihon  is  still 
quite  habitable,  cool  and  comfortable. 

Since  Vienna  has  lost  her   society  I  live  quite  in 


ITALIAN   MUSIC.  587 

my  business.  Every  two  or  three  days  I  work  with 
Tatistscheff.  Fortunately,  it  is  easy  to  work  with 
him. 

695.  July  25. — From  hour  to  hour  I  expect  news 
from  St.  Petersburg.  They  will  give  me  the  only  informa- 
tion I  want.  That  is,  they  will  tell  me  the  day  on 
which  I  shall  see  the  Emperor  Alexander.  One  other 
question  will  also  have  a  certain  interest — shall  I  meet 
Capo  dlstria  ?  I  trouble  myself  httle  about  it.  The 
man  is  dead,  and  I  fear  neither  the  dead  nor  ghosts. 
A  dead  man  is  nothing,  and  a  returning  ghost  never 
represents  anything  but  a  very  miserable  living  person. 
Man  only  hves  once ;  to  rise  again,  one  must  cross  to 
another  world.  Being  born  again  into  the  same  world 
is  only  a  shadow  of  the  first  life.  Capo  d'lstria's  rule  is 
over.  I  have  fought  with  him  for  a  long  time,  and  yet 
I  have  always  gone  on  my  own  way  forwards.  Capo 
d'lstria  is  an  unskilful  general ;  cunning,  learned  in 
pretexts,  he  lacks  judgment  of  the  situation,  the 
strength  and  weakness  of  which  he  does  not  appre- 
ciate. He  supports  castles  in  the  air  by  aphorisms 
which  are  not  worth  the  trouble  of  attacking.  If  one  is 
right  and  goes  steadily  forward,  the  adversary  must  be 
vanquished. 

596.  July  27. — This  evening  I  was  for  the  first 
time  at  the  German  opera.  But  a  German  voice  is  quite 
pitiable  in  comparison  with  an  Itahan.  People  don't 
open  their  mouths,  and  seem  to  think  the  nose  is  also  an 
organ  of  the  human  voice. 

It  is  remarkable  that  a  wrong  spirit  and  bad  taste 
always  go  together  ;  thus  we  see  that  all  malcontents 
have  a  horror  of  Italian  music.  In  Germany  people  are 
always  quarrelling  about  whether  German  or  Italian 
music  is  to  be  preferred.     Our  country  joins  in  the  fray. 


588     EXTRACTS   FROM  AIETTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

A  dispute  across  the  frontiers  does  not  prevent  the 
spread  of  the  epidemic,  just  as  it  does  not  prevent  the 
spread  of  knowledge  and  thought.  Now,  there  is  here 
a  minority  who  wish  to  pass  themselves  off  as  the 
majority,  and  is  Liberal,  Eadical,  and  Doctrinaire, 
hating,  therefore,  Italian  singing.  It  was  to  be  ex- 
pected that  this  minority  would  be  present  at  the 
German  opera,  which,  however,  was  not  the  case.  It 
recommends  what  it  laughs  down,  and  the  house  re- 
mains empty.  These  devil's  advocates  are  always  either 
the  dupes  of  their  own  system  (these  are  the  most  sin- 
cere), or  they  try  to  deceive  others  (these  are  the  most 
numerous). 

697.  August  1. — To-day's  news  tells  us  that  the 
Emperor  Alexander  will  arrive  on  September  7.  The 
same  news  informs  us  of  something  which  does  not 
astonish  me — Capo  d'Istria  is  not  coming. 

The  Emperor  Alexander  praises  me  beyond  measure, 
and  asserts  that  he  has  confidence  only  in  me.  Does 
anyone  wish  to  know  what  sort  of  impression  that 
makes  on  me  ?  It  raises  a  smile,  and  nothing  else.  I 
know,  too,  that  the  same  Emperor  desires  Londonderry's 
presence,  and  that  is  good.  Here  we  shall  remain  for 
at  least  three  weeks,  and  that  is  absolutely  necessary. 

Capo  d'Istria  has  written  to  Golowkin  a  singular 
farewell  letter. 

698.  August  15. — I  have  just  begun  to  read 
O'Meara's  work.  There  is  occasionally  some  truth  in  it, 
in  the  same  way  as  there  is  with  a  valet  speaking  of  his 
master.  In  what  Napoleon  has  said  to  his  wretched 
biographer  (O'Meara)  there  is  a  blending  of  great 
and  little,  true  and  false  mingled  together,  but  always 
with  a  background  in  which  the  relater's  motives  are 
evident.     There  are  no  such  conversations  as  Napoleon 


OMEARA'S  BOOK.  589 

held  when  he  meant  to  treat  a  question  thoroughly. 
The  characteristics,  however,  of  this  celebrated  man  are 
well  seen  in  these,  especially  for  those  who  knew  him. 
O'Meara,  however,  did  not  know  him  :  O'Meara  believed 
in  him,  and  a  man  like  Napoleon  is  only  rightly  judged 
of  when  we  do  not  believe  in  him.  In  turning  over  the 
leaves  of  this  book  I  often  meet  my  own  name.  The 
more  evil  I  find  said  of  me  the  better  I  like  it.  Accor- 
ding to  my  own  conviction,  Napoleon  never  knew  me, 
and,  still  more,  never  divined  me.  The  cause  is  very 
simple.  Napoleon  was  the  man  in  all  the  world  who 
most  despised  the  human  race.  He  had  a  strange  apti- 
tude for  discovering  the  weak  sides  of  men,  and  all  pas- 
sions are  weak  sides  or  produce  them.  He  loved  only 
men  with  strong  passions  and  great  weaknesses  ;  he 
judged  the  most  opposite  qualities  in  men  by  these 
defects.  In  me  he  encountered  a  calmness  which  must 
cause  despair  to  one  who  founded  his  calculations  on 
passions.  Hence  he  denied  the  existence  in  me  of  every 
quahty  bearing  on  pure  reason  or  which  is  reason 
itself.  I  have  often  involuntarily  laughed  in  Napoleon's 
presence,  when  I  remarked  that  he  judged  me  falsely. 
Therefore  I  knew  Napoleon  much  better  than  he  knew 
me.  Seven  years  of  resolute  study  suffice  to  know  a 
man,  especially  a  man  whose  nature  and  actions  are 
all  external — that  is,  for  a  calm  observer  who  is  not 
led  astray  by  any  feeling  of  fear  and  awe. 

699.  August  18. — I  am  still  reading  O'Meara's 
book.  God  in  heaven !  how  the  poor  devil  has  been 
imposed  upon.  The  account  of  the  agreement  between 
Napoleon  and  the  Emperor  Francis  about  the  flight 
from  Elba  is  good.  It  is  to  me  as  if  I,  too,  were  listen- 
ing to  Napoleon ;  he  has  often  tried  to  make  me  beheve 
the  same.     I  let  him  talk  tiU  he  had  done,  and  then 


590    EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

I  only  said  to  him  '  That  is  false.'  Then  he  looked  at 
me,  smiled,  and  said  as  he  turned  away,  '  Sono  hugie 
pel'  i  Parigini!  What  a  book  I  could  write  after 
O'Meara's  method,  if  I  had  every  evening  written  down 
all  the  nonsense  I  had  heard  in  the  day.  I  see,  too, 
that  Napoleon  was  much  grieved  to  lose  his  Signor 
Dottore.     What  good  stuff  for  a  romance-writer ! 

All  may  be  said  in  two  words  :  Napoleon  was  a  very 
small  man  of  imposing  character.  He  was  ignorant,  as  a 
sub-heutenant  generally  is ;  a  remarkable  instinct  sup- 
phed  the  place  of  knowledge.  From  his  mean  opinion  of 
men,  he  never  had  any  anxiety  lest  he  should  go  wrong. 
He  ventured  everything,  and  gained  thereby  an  immense 
step  towards  success.  Throwing  himself  upon  a  pro- 
digious arena,  he  amazed  the  world  and  made  himself 
master  of  it,  while  others  cannot  even  get  so  far  as 
being  masters  of  their  own  hearth.  Then  he  went  on 
and  on,  until  he  broke  his  neck.  He  ended  as  he  must 
have  ended,  and  was  judged  as  all  those  are  judged  who 
find  means  to  subdue  the  common  herd.  As  a  lesiti- 
mate  ruler  of  a  small  State  he  would  never  have  been 
heard  of  except  as  an  arbitrary  monarch.  As  a  military 
commander  in  any  country  whatever,  as  an  adminis- 
trator wherever  the  storm  of  revolution  raged,  he  would 
always  have  come  out  strongly.  In  the  situation  in 
which  he  was,  he  must  have  played  the  part  he  did  play, 
and  which  no  man  of  better  princijDles  could  have 
ventured  to  undertake. 

600.  August  20. — What  dreadful  news  !  *  I  have 
only  a  telegraphic  despatch  from  Paris,  but  what  a 
blow !  I  am  armed  against  all  contingencies  ;  my  cause 
will  only  be  lost  if  I  fall  myself. 

601.  August  22. — I  now  know  all,  and  that  all  is 

*  Londonderry's  (Castlereagh's)  madness  and  suicide. 


LORD  LONDONDERRY'S  DEATH.         591 

very  sad.  What  poor  weak  creatures  we  are  !  It  was 
madness  !  simple  madness  !  Londonderry  had  had  one 
attack  some  years  ago.  The  Government  and  his 
family  knew  the  secret,  and  everything  possible  was 
done  to  conceal  the  circumstance  from  the  pubHc. 

His  affair  with  the  King  and  all  his  fears  were  but 
symptoms  of  the  impending  paroxysm.  It  is  a  great 
misfortune.  The  man  is  not  to  be  rej^laced,  especially 
not  for  me.  He  may  be  replaced  by  a  man  of  higher 
intellect,  but  not  with  his  experience.  Londonderry 
was  the  only  man  in  his  country  who  had  gained  any 
experience  in  foreign  affairs ;  he  had  learned  to  under- 
stand me.  Now  it  will  take  years  before  another 
reaches  the  same  stage  of  confidence. 

Through  Stewart,  who  has  arrived  here  to-day,  I 
shall  learn  many  particulars.  There  is  something  so 
horrible  in  the  affair  that  the  mind  can  hardly  take  it 
in.  Londonderry  was  supposed  to  be  very  calm,  but 
he  was  not  so.  The  stupid  world  always  judges  the 
inner  man  by  the  outside,  and  nothing  is  so  deceitful. 

602.  August  25. — Stewart  has  learned  all  the 
incidents  which  preceded  the  catastrophe.  It  is  now 
known  that  Londonderry  was  seized  with  madness  ten 
days  before  his  end.  He  gave  so  many  j^roofs  of  ap- 
proaching insanity  that  it  is  incomprehensible  to  me 
that  it  was  not  obvious  to  the  people  about  him,  and 
that  greater  precautions  were  not  taken.  The  cata- 
strophe is  one  of  the  most  shocking  that  I  have  ever 
known.  He  was  devoted  to  me  in  heart  and  spirit, 
not  only  from  personal  inclination,  but  also  from  con- 
viction. Much  which  would  have  been  easy  with  him 
will  with  his  successor,  whoever  he  is,  bring  fresh 
labour.  I  awaited  him  here  as  my  second  self  My 
work  would  have   been   reduced   by   half,   because   I 


592     EXTRACTS   FRO^t  METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

should  have  had  him  to  share  it  with  me ;  now  I  am 
left  to  my  own  strength.  I  am  not  alarmed  at  that, 
but  I  feel  myself  overburdened.  I  have  just  requested 
the  presence  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  the  only  man 
who  can  in  a  measure  replace  him. 


593 


OF  THE  JOURNEY  TO    VERONA   AND  BACK 

Extracts  from  Metternich's  private  Letters  from  September  17  to 
December  29,  1822, 

603.  Rendezvous  witli  Prince  Victor.  604.  From  Innsbruck.  605.  From 
Verona. — importance  of  the  Congress.  606.  Salon  Lieven.  607.  Satis- 
fiiction  "tt'ith  Prince  Victor.  608.  From  Venice.  609.  Gentz's  arrival  in 
Venice.  610.  Farewell  from  Emperor  Alexander.  611.  His  departure. 
612.  Alone  in  Venice.  613.  From  Innsbruck.  614.  Parting  of  tbe  two 
Emperors — departure  of  the  Emperor  Francis. 

603.  Vienna,  September  17,  1822. — The  route 
which  I  have  suggested  that  my  son  should  take,  in 
order  to  meet  us  at  Innsbruck,  will  bring  him  throufjli 
the  most  beautiful  part  of  Switzerland.*  At  Lake 
Constance  he  will  stop  at  Hersberg  f  long  enough  only 
to  enjoy  the  most  glorious  prospect  in  the  world.  The 
castle — or  rather,  house — consists  of  nothing  but  four 
walls,  and  I  hardly  think  it  contains  anything  more  than 
a  couple  of  chairs. 

604.  Innsbruck,  October  9. — We  arrived  here  at 
six  o'clock  on  the  evening  of  the  7th.  Victor  had  been 
here  already  three  hours.  He  received  me  on  the 
steps  of  the  hotel,  is  very  well,  and  has  become  tall, 
strong,  and  handsome.  How  delighted  I  was  to  see 
him  again  I  need  not  say,  and  how  delighted  I  should 
be  if  I  could  pass  some  time  with  him.  In  a  few  hours 
we  shall  leave  this  place,  pass  the  night  at  Brixen,  in  the 
morning   travel   to   Trent,   the   next   day  to   Lago  di 

*  The  Prince's  family  was  then  at  Johannisberg. — Ed. 
t  Castle  belonging  to  Prince  Metternich. — Ed.^ 

VOL.  III.  Q  Q 


594     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

Garda,  and  stay  the  niglit  at  Eoveredo.  Early  on  the 
12th  we  shall  arrive  at  Verona.  The  whole  journey 
will  be  made  in  company  with  JSTesselrode,  Pozzo  di 
Borgo,  and  Lebzeltern.  I  take  Victor  in  my  carriage, 
and  leave  Lebzeltern  to  go  with  Floret.  We  are  in 
good  company,  and  our  journey,  which  will  take  twelve 
days  from  Vienna  to  Verona,  is  a  time  of  rest  for  us, 
and  of  the  greatest  enjoyment  to  me.  I  am  so  unac- 
customed to  the  use  of  these  two  expressions,  that  I  am 
quite  astonished  to  see  them  come  from  my  pen,  but 
still  more  astonished  to  see  the  realisation  of  these 
unwonted  ideas.  We  travel  through  the  lovehest 
country,  in  the  most  glorious  weather,  and  as  there  is  no 
hurry  we  can  make  excursions  to  the  right  and  left. 
We  are  a  small  but  happy  company,  and  I  shall  number 
this  journey  among  the  pleasantest  recollections  of  my 
life.  Victor  seems  very  glad  to  see  me  again.  All  he 
has  said  to  me  gives  me  great  pleasure.  I  shall  have 
the  opportunity  of  talking  much  with  him,  and  I  will 
not  lose  it. 

605.  Verona,  October  22. — I  have  just  begun  the 
greatest  work  !  Confidence  is  placed  in  me,  as  I  place 
confidence  in  the  others,  for  the  Congress  consists  of 
honest  men.  The  evil  element  of  perpetual  dissension 
(Capo  d'lstria)  has  ended  his  career,  and  mth  him 
disappear  a  thousand  perplexities  and  difficulties.  My 
personal  relations  with  the  Emperor  of  Eussia  are  the 
most  intimate  possible,  as  for  the  peace  of  the  world 
they  ought  to  be.  He  beheves  in  me  just  as  my  Em- 
peror does,  and  the  business  gains  thereby  as  it  would 
by  no  other  combination. 

The  Congress  of  Verona  is  the  most  important  since 
the  year  1814,  and  will  bear,  I  hope,  golden  fruit.  Good 
fortune  has  so  often  stood  by  my  side  that  I  now  always 


CONGRESS   OF  VERONA.  595 

invoke  it  to   tlie  victory   of  the  good  cause,  and  if  I 
once  have  it  I  will  not  let  it  go. 

606.  November  12. — Count  Lieven  is  here  my 
only  social  resource.  I  pass  most  of  my  evenings  with 
him,  and  many  of  the  members  of  the  Congress  follow 
my  example.  The  heart  of  the  society  is  formed  by 
the  Duke  of  Wellington,  Euffo  (Neapolitan  ambassador), 
Caraman  (French  ambassador),  BernstorfF  (Prussian  am- 
bassador), &c.  &c. — in  other  words,  the  salon  of  the 
Princess  Lieven  in  Yerona  is  like  ours  in  Vienna. 

607.  November  27. — I  am  extremely  satisfied 
with  Victor  ;  he  will  be  a  good  and  useful  man.  His 
conduct  here  is  faultless,  his  heart  is  pure,  and  his 
understanding  very  sound.  In  the  last  few  days  I  have 
allowed  him  to  undertake  a  real  work  of  art.  In  order 
to  show  me  how  he  understands  the  EngUsh  and  French 
languages,  I  have  given  him  a  very  important  English 
despatch  to  translate.  He  throws  himself  thoroughly 
into  his  work,  and  gets  through  his  task  in  a  com- 
paratively short  time.  His  translation  has  astonished 
all  my  officials,  and,  indeed,  the  whole  conference. 
There  was  not  a  word  to  alter,  not  an  expression  to 
change.  It  will  be  placed  with  the  other  documents  as 
a  w^ork  of  the  first  rank.  Moreover,  Victor  loves  his 
work  as  much  as  his  Vienna  friends  and  comrades  love 
the  Prater. 

608.  Venice,  December  16. — I  left  Verona  this 
morning  at  five  o'clock,  and  crossed  over  the  Lagunes 
in  a  gondola  at  three  in  the  afternoon.  It  was  a  beau- 
tiful day ;  the  Emperor  of  Eussia  had  made  his  entry 
into  Venice  two  hours  before.  I  saw  only  the  remains 
of  the  splendour  of  his  entry.  The  roads  from  Fusine 
to  Padua  were  full  of  carriages,  and  the  Lagunes  were 
crowded   with  gondolas.      I   know   the  Emperor  was 

QQ2 


596     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

ravislied  with  tlie  beauty  of  the   scene.     The  sun  did 
good  service  to  the  entry. 

I  have  good  accommodation,  plenty  of  sun  and  even 
stoves  ;  also  a  splendid  state-bed,  which  seems  more 
suited  for  a  Danae  than  for  me,  so  I  have  my  little 
camp-bed  put  in  its  place.  In  the  evening  I  went  to 
the  Fenice,  where  they  gave  '  II  Matrimonio  Segreto,'  the 
history  of  a  marriage  so  secret  that  I  will  be  hanged  if 
I  could  understand  anything  about  it.  What  was  want- 
ing on  the  part  of  the  singers  was  made  up  by  the 
appearance  of  the  house  ;  the  Fenice  was  in  grand  gala 
and  looking  wonderfully  beautiful.  I  expected  every 
moment  to  see  Nesselrode  climbing  over  the  boxes  :  he 
is  in  the  greatest  enthusiasm  about  Venice. 

But  the  old  Venice  is  also  most  astonishing,  when 
we  think  that  in  a  very  great  city  we  are  dwelling  in 
the  midst  of  the  sea.  Looking  at  the  long  circuit  of 
embankments  running  for  miles  into  the  sea,  which  form 
a  calm  mirror  of  water  out  of  the  ocean  itself,  we  cannot 
but  be  amazed  at  the  creative  power  of  man. 

The  first  person  to  visit  me  was  friend  Eossini.  Con- 
cerning his  bad  singers,  I  felt  myself  obliged  to  call  out 
in  an  unpleasant  manner,  '  Vi  siete  mgamiato.'  He  com- 
forted me  about  his  wife's  throat,  and  complained  very 
much  of  his  first  tenor,  an  Irishman  who  had  been  three 
months  learnini?  Italian.  When  Eossini  said  to  me, 
'  Canta  come  compone  certo  amhasciatore  d' Inghilterra 
che  si  crede  Maestro  di  cajpeUa,'  he  thought  he  had 
said  everything. 

It  is  striking  midnight  on  the  Campanile,  and  I  must 
go  to  sleep. 

609.  December  17. — Gentz  has  arrived.  I  have  in 
regard  to  him  a  new  proof  of  my  knowledge  of  men. 
Wlien  I  asked  him  how  Venice  pleased  him,  he  an- 


VENICE.  597 

swered  in  his  pedantic  manner,  '  Since  my  arrival  I  have 
been  convinced  that  Italy  really  has  charms,  but  I  have 
not  found  anything  of  all  that  has  been  said  about  this 
country ;  do  not  tell  me  of  Verona  and  her  antiquities, 
or  of  Vicenza  or  Padua,  where  I  can  see  nothing :  but 
Venice  !  Do  not,  however,  suppose  that  I  am  enchanted 
with  the  position  of  the  city  in  the  midst  of  the  water  : 
I  hate  the  water  ;  neither  do  the  palaces  or  the  churches, 
nor  the  Piazza  San  Marco,  charm  me,  for  a  Piazza  is  al- 
ways a  Piazza,  and  the  larger  the  palaces  are  the  more 
difficult  they  are  to  heat.  All  this  does  not  make  Venice 
answer  to  its  reputation  ;  it  is  the  wonderfully  pretty 
little  streets  !  What  genius  it  required  to  venture  to 
build  them  so  narrow,  and  with  what  taste  were  they 
ornamented  by  the  shops  ! ' 

When  I  was  yesterday  walking  about  with  Tatistscheif 
and  Nesselrode  in  the  city,  I  laid  a  bet  that  just  these 
streets  would  please  Gentz  and  gain  his  heart.  Such 
are  men !  Everyone  measures  things  according  to  his 
own  standard,  and  taste  is  as  different  as  everything 
else.  Gentz  hkes  everything  small,  and  is  afraid  of 
everything  that  is  not  small. 

In  tlie  eveninoj  the  Piazza  was  illuminated  and  the 
Church  of  St.  Mark.  Tatistscheif  and  Nesselrode  then 
came  to  me  and  played  whist. 

610.  December  21. — Our  stay  at  Venice  is  coming 
to  an  end.  The  Emperor  Alexander  leaves  in  the  morn- 
ing. I  have  to-day  taken  a  preliminary  farewell ;  the 
last  leave  I  shall  take  at  Innsbruck  on  the  28th.  He 
has  been  much  pleased  with  his  stay  here ;  has  seen 
and  admired  everything  :  the  apartment  which  lie  occu- 
pied in  the  palace  has  a  wonderful  view  of  the  Giudecca, 
the  Piazza  San  Marco,  and  the  Pdva  degli  Schiavoni.  He 
thinks   the  Giudecca  like  the  Neva,  and  the  Palace  of 


598     EXTHACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S   PRIVATE   LETTERS. 

the  Doge  like  some  of  the  palaces  in  Moscow.  I  am  on 
the  best  footing  with  him,  and  there  is  but  little  clanger 
now  of  its  being  otherwise.  My  work  is  no  small 
one ! 

Yesterday  we  had  a  concert  at  the  Court,  at  which 
Eossini  was  conductor.  His  wife  begins  to  get  her 
voice  again,  but  I  fear  that  it  will  never  thoroughly 
return. 

611.  December  22. — The  Emperor  Alexander  started 
to-day.     Tatistscheff  gets  no  title  at  present. 

Before  his  departure  the  Emperor  took  a  hearty 
leave  of  Nessekode,  and  thanked  him  for  the  extra- 
ordinary service  he  had  done  him  at  Verona  ;  and  that 
was  a  comfort  for  Nesselrode,  on  which  I  heartily 
congratulate  him. 

The  day  after  to-morrow  I  shall  leave  Italy,  to 
return  again  in  nine  or  ten  months. 

612.  December  23. — I  am  to-day  the  only  stranger 
remaining  in  Venice  ;  I  have  not  left  my  room,  for  it  is 
so  cold  outside,  and  the  loveliest  objects  in  the  world 
cannot  please  me  in  such  weather. 

The  Londonderrys  (formerly  Stewarts),  man  and 
wife,  left  this  place  to-day.  On  leaving  they  both  cried 
like  children  ;  I  do  not  know  what  sort  of  a  face  I  made, 
for  my  nature  is  not  given  to  weephig.  They  do  not 
know  what  to  do  with  themselves,  and  I  should  not  be 
astonished  if  they  soon  come  back  again  to  us.  Certain 
it  is  that  they  left  Vienna  very  unwilhngly. 

613.  Innsbruck,  December  23. — I  left  Venice  on  the 
25th,  and  arrived  here  the  following  night,  crossing  the 
Brenner  Pass  between  ten  and  eleven  in  the  evening, 
with  a  temperature  of  fifteen  degrees  of  cold. 

The  Emperor  Alexander  has  to-day  returned  from 
his  excursion  with  his  family,  and  I  this  evening  spent 


EETURN   TO   VIENNA.  599  ■ 

three  hours  with  liini.  He  had  talked  a  great  deal  to 
his  son-indaw  (lung  of  Wurtemberg),  and  all  that  he 
said  was  good :  what  the  son-indaw  will  do  may  not, 
however,  be  quite  so  much  so,  but  it  does  not  much 
matter  to  me.  The  great  car  is  in  motion,  and  since 
the  small  ones  see  fit  to  exclude  themselves  from 
the  movement  they  run  the  danger  of  getting  under 
the  wheels  and  being  run  over.  Yery  httle  special 
mechanical  knowledge  is  required  to  see  this,  but 
unhappily  there  are  men  wdio  do  not  possess  even 
that. 

I  expect  to  remain  here  till  the  31st.  I  may  leave 
on  the  30th,  but  may  not ;  and  my  road  runs  through 
Munich,  takins^  me  into  the  midst  of  the  New  Year  fes- 
tivities  ;  I  shall  not  get  to  Munich  till  the  evening  of 
the  great  day,  and  shall  remain  there  two  or  three  days, 
and  on  the  6th  enter  Vienna. 

614.  December  29. — The  separation  took  place  to- 
day. '  Our  two  friends  parted  from  one  another  in  the 
fullest  and  happiest  harmony.  May  Heaven  protect 
them ! 

For  the  sake  of  propriety  I  had  to  go  to  the  theatre 
this  evening,  but  the  cold  drove  me  back  in  ten  minutes. 
Certainly  it  was  never  before  heard  of  to  have  the 
theatre  placed  over  the  ice-cellar  of  the  town  !  Just 
near  the  entrance,  I  observed  a  quite  pecuhar  sharpness 
of  the  air,  of  so  cutting  a  cold  that  my  curiosity  about 
physical  matters  led  me  to  try  to  discover  the  cause, 
and  I  was  not  a  httle  astonished  to  find  the  fact  I  have 
mentioned,  after  which  discovery  I  quickly  hurried 
away.  They  gave  a  piece  that  has  succeeded  well  in 
Germany,  '  The  Little  Alpine  Kose.'  The  first  act  re- 
presents a  churchyard  in  Switzerland  ;  the  last,  a  masked 
ball  at  Moscow.     The  whole   is   taken  from   a  pretty 


600     EXTRACTS   FROM   METTERNICH'S  PRIVATE   LETTERS. 


* 


anecdote  which  appeared  some  years  ago,  in  what  col- 
lection I  know  not. 

From  the  ice-cellar  I  went  to  the  Lady-ruler  of  the 
land,  where  I  found  the  remaining  members  of  the  Con- 
gress assembled,  the  number  being  reduced  to  eight 
persons. 


601 


AUSTRIA'S  ATTITUDE  IN  THE  EASTERN 

QUESTION. 

616.  Metternicli  to  Letzeltem,  in  St.  Petersburg  (Despatcli),  Vienna, 
January  28,  1822. 

616.  I  believe  tlie  moment  has  come  when  it  will 
be  useful  to  explain  to  the  Russian  Cabinet  all  the  steps 
we  have  taken  in  the  Eastern  question. 

I  intend  to  make  the  following  observations  with  a 
freedom  worthy  of  the  greatness  of  the  subject,  and  in 
agreement  with  the  purity  of  intention  of  the  Emperor, 
our  august  master.  While  the  immediate  future  is  still 
veiled  is  perhaps  the  most  favourable  moment  to  make 
known  the  truth  without  appearing  to  be  influenced  by 
calculations  to  which  it  is  a  stranger. 

Here  is  a  very  brief  sketch  of  our  conduct  relative 
to  that  question  and  the  difficulties  we  have  encoun- 
tered. 

The  revolt  of  the  Greeks,  however  different  might  be 
its  long-standing  and  permanent  causes  from  the  revolu- 
tions which  the  Grand  Alliance  was  called  upon  to  com- 
bat, nevertheless  directly  originated  in  the  plots  of  the 
disorganised  fiiction  which  menaces  all  thrones  and  all 
institutions.  This  truth  was  immediately  recognised  by 
the  monarchs  assembled  at  Laybach  ;  it  was  announced 
by  them  in  the  face  of  Europe,  and  the  character  of  the 
abettors  of  this  revolt  would  have  warranted  the  first 


G02     AUSTPJA'S   ATTITUDE   IN   THE   EASTERN   QUESTION. 

* 

judgment  of  the  two  Emperors,  even  if  this  judgment 
had  not  been  founded  on  incontestable  data. 

Nevertheless,  I  was  persuaded  from  the  time  of  the 
first  news  of  the  great  explosion  that  neither  the  evi- 
dence of  facts,  nor  the  wise  and  enlightened  views  of 
his  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  All  the  Eussias,  would  suf- 
fice to  eliminate  from  the  new  comphcation  many  diffi- 
culties and  embarrassments.  Neither  did  I  hesitate  to 
submit  my  conviction  to  his  Imperial  Majesty,  that 
the  affair,  whatever  might  be  the  firmness  of  the 
monarchs  and  the  uniformity  of  their  principles,  could 
not  fail  to  prove  a  heavy  trial  to  the  sovereign  of  Eussia 
in  particular— the  most  difficult  perhaps  that  he  has  yet 
had  to  surmount.  His  Majesty  the  Emperor  Alexander 
understood  and  agreed  with  me.  My  opinion  was 
founded  on  considerations  wdiich  facts  have  but  too  well 
confirmed. 

I  have  taken  into  account — 

1st.  The  pecuhar  position  of  the  Eussian  monarch 
with  regard  to  the  Porte,  both  in  a  political  and  rehgious 
point  of  view; 

2nd.  The  impression  that  must  be  made  on  the  Otto- 
man Government  by  the  simultaneous  insurrection  of 
its  Greek  subjects  in  Europe,  and  the  tone  taken  by 
that  insurrection  from  the  beginning  ; 

ord.  The  untiring  efforts  of  the  Greek  religionists 
to  make  up  by  the  popularity  of  their  cause  for  what 
it  lacked  in  soHdity,  and  the  support  lent  to  them  by 
zealots  in  religion  like  the  Eadicals  in  politics,  atheists 
as  well  as  visionaries  ; 

4tli.  The  stupor  of  the  Turkish  Government,  its 
weakness,  its  jealousy,  its  fanaticism,  supported  by  the 
fanaticism  and  barbarism  of  the  Mussulman  people. 

The  embarrassments  resulting  from  this  position  of 


MKTrEr.NlCIl   TO   LEBZELTERN.  603 

tilings  could  not  bat  exercise  a  painful  influence  on  tlie 
measures  to  be  taken  by  the  allied  sovereigns.  They 
had,  to  a  certain  extent,  all  the  chances  against  them, 
while  their  opponents  hoped  to  turn  everything  to 
profit. 

If  the  AlUance  remains  intact,  if  peace  is  to  be  main- 
tained in  Europe,  the  Courts  must  expect  to  be  over- 
whelmed with  the  reproaches  of  an  ignorant  multitude, 
easily  deceived  by  words  seeming  to  breathe  only  senti- 
ments of  humanity  and  rehgion.  In  case  of  a  rupture 
of  the  peace,  the  malcontents  would  see  new  hopes  and 
more  flattering  prospects  opening  before  them  than  any 
they  have  been  vainly  expecting  for  the  last  eight 
years.  The  first  and  most  certain  effect  of  the  war 
would  be  a  general  attack  on  the  Alliance,  the  exist- 
ence of  which  would  become  doubtful  if  one  of  the 
allied  Courts  should  take  upon  itself  the  burden  of  the 
war,  and  which  would  cease  to  be  formidable  in  the 
eyes  of  the  revolutionists  when  the  forces  of  several 
of  the  Powers  were  employed  in  the  East. 

In  such  a  combination  our  course  would  not  be 
doubtful.  Forced  to  choose  between  two  evils,  we 
should  feel  bound  to  choose  the  less.  We  would  rather 
abandon  ourselves  to  the  confidence  with  which  the 
character  and  the  intelhgence  of  His  Majesty  of  All  the 
Eussias  inspires  us  than  to  the  vain  hope  of  repressing 
(with  enfeebled  resources)  the  enemy  within  any  hmits 
whatever.  We  have  traced  for  ourselves  an  unvarying 
rule  of  conduct,  and  no  consideration  would  make  us 
deviate  from  it.  To  try  to  serve  the  cause  of  peace  by 
all  the  means  in  our  power ;  to  maintain  at  the  same 
time,  with  all  the  zeal  and  perseverance  our  position 
allows,  the  just  demands  of  his  Majesty  the  Emperor  of 
Eussia  ;  to  push  as  far  as  possible,  in  terms  which  would 


604    AUSTRIA'S  ATTITUDE  IN   THE  EASTERN  QUESTION. 

certainly  not  be  warlike,  our  declarations  concerning  tlie 
Porte ;  never  to  lose  sight  of  the  origin  of  the  revolt  of 
the  Greeks,  nor  the  consequences  which  may  result  from 
it  for  the  future  preservation  of  the  internal  peace  of 
the  Ottoman  empire — such  should  be,  and  such  have  in 
reality  been,  the  bases  of  our  calculations  and  the  prin- 
ciples which  have  guided  us  in  our  communications  witli 
the  Courts,  as  in  our  explanations  with  the  Porte. 

However  simple  these  principles  may  appear,  they 
present  great  perplexities  in  their  apphcation.  The  steps 
we  have  taken  may  be  taxed  with  a  Avant  of  energy  by 
a  public  frightened  and  excited  by  the  faction ;  they 
may  be  exposed  to  false  interpretations  at  St.  Petersburg, 
and  to  entirely  opposite  ones  at  Constantinople.  It  was, 
however,  better  to  run  all  these  risks  than  to  depart 
from  a  path  which  conviction  and  consideration  point 
out  as  the  only  path  practicable. 

I  do  not  fear  from  those  who  know  how  to  judge  of 
great  affairs  the  reproach  of  not  having  uttered  threaten- 
ing words  to  the  Porte.  Such  words,  pronounced  by 
a  Power  of  the  first  rank  should  be  supported  by  mate- 
rial demonstrations.  If  anyone  accuses  us  of  not  having 
made  use  of  the  latter,  cast  a  glance  over  Europe,  Sir, 
and  you  will  have  the  key  to  our  reserve.  The  day 
that  Russia  and  Austria  allow  it  to  be  supposed  that 
the  employment  of  their  united  forces  is  indispensable 
in  the  Levant,  Italy,  Germany,  and  France  will  be  lost. 
This  is  what  the  party  has  waited  for  with  so  much 
impatience  during  the  last  few  months — a  triumph  which 
we  most  certainly  must  take  care  not  to  afford  it.  Do 
you  beheve  that  the  military  powers  of  Austria  and 
Prussia,  the  only  ones  we  can  take  into  account  on  the 
Continent— the  former  weakened  by  the  absence  of  some 
of  their  best  troops  in  a  remote  country,  which  has  j  ust 


METTERNICH  TO   LEBZELTERN.  605 

escaped  total  destruction ;  the  latter  less  dreaded  by  the 
faction,  because  in  its  perfidious  calculations  it  reckons 
on  paralysing  them  to  a  great  extent — do  you  believe 
that  these  two  forces  united  are  not  more  than  suffi- 
cient to  overcome  conspirators  who  count  on  the  weak- 
>ness  of  some  Governments  and  on  the  bhnd  ambition  of 
others ;  on  the  defection,  in  short,  of  the  greater  part 
of  the  armies  in  Europe  ? 

This  reasoning  appears  to  us  so  conclusive  that  in 
order  to  overthrow  it  one  must  deny  all  the  facts  which 
have  taken  place  before  our  eyes  during  the  last  two 
years,  of  which  each  day  increases  the  number  and 
weight. 

But  one  might  perhaps  say.  If  this  is  the  state  of 
things,  how  have  the  decisions  been  so  long  protracted  ? 
I  will  tell  you  without  hesitation. 

The  difficulties  inherent  to  the  individual  position  of 
each  of  the  two  Powers  of  which  the  insurrection  of  the 
Greeks  has  disturbed  the  pacific  relations,  have  come 
forward  in  the  course  of  the  affair  ;  this  is  the  danger 
we  have  always  feared  more  than  any  other,  and  which  I 
regard  as  the  principal  source  of  our  present  perplexities. 

The  Porte,  in  removing  the  question  from  its  primi- 
tive basis,  and  appealing  to  religion,  has  committed  a 
grave  error,  which,  however,  does  not  surprise  us  much 
on  the  part  of  a  theocratic  Government,  whicli  can  find 
no  extraordinary  resources  except  in  the  first  cause  of 
its  political  existence. 

The  position  of  Eussia  has  been  in  this  respect  still 
more  difficult  than  that  of  tlie  Porte.  At  Constanti- 
nople they  have  only  had  to  defend  themselves  on  one 
ground  ;  wliile  at  St.  Petersburg  they  have  had  two 
questions  before  them,  not  only  different,  but  absolutely 
opposite  in  their  application.     The  Greeks,  as  rebels. 


606    AUSTRIA'S   ATTITUDE   IN   THE   EASTERN   QUESTION. 

had  no  title  to  the  favour  of  the  Emperor  of  Eussia  ; 
these  same  Greeks,  as  persecuted  Christians,  placed  in 
certain  relations  with  Eussia  by  virtue  of  existing  treaties, 
were  in  some  sort  justified  in  invoking  the  support  of 
that  monarch.  To  get  out  of  the  difficulty  it  was  neces- 
sary carefully  to  separate  these  two  questions.  If, 
amongst  the  men  who  are  firm  enough  in  their  prin- 
ciples to  desire  the  preservation  of  peace  before  every- 
thing— and  it  is  only  they  whom  my  calculations 
concern — there  are  still  found  at  St.  Petersburg  some 
who  ■  have  confounded  these  questions,  they  have  cer- 
tainly to  reproach  themselves  with  a  mistake.  That 
this  mistake  has  not  been  shared  by  those  who  have 
considered  the  affair  in  its  grand  and  true  point  of  view 
is  a  fact  demonstrated  by  the  circumstance  that  the 
rupture  has  not  yet  taken  place.  It  being  nevertheless 
certain  that  it  will  take  place,  the  problem,  instead  of 
being  solved,  is  still  more  complicated. 

We  have  at  last  arrived  at  the  term  of  the  decision, 
and  I  consider  as  such  the  first  despatches  we  receive 
from  you  after  the  arrival  of  our  courier  of  Decem- 
ber 31. 

The  resolution  to  begin  the  war  may  have  been 
taken  at  St.  Petersburg— for  it  will  not  be  taken  at 
Constantinople — or  perhaps  the  Cabinet  of  Eussia  may 
have  preferred  an  amicable  arrangement. 

In  the  first  case,  while  deploring  the  fact,  we  shall 
not  cease  to  make  the  strongest  remonstrances  to  the 
Divan,  until  the  first  Eussian  troops  have  crossed  the 
frontier.  Our  conscience  imposes  this  duty  upon  us ; 
for  the  more  we  are  convinced  that  a  new  era  (which  I 
certainly  cannot  regard  as  regenerative)  is  commencing 
for  Europe,  the  less  do  we  wish  to  have  to  reproach 
ourselves  for  not  exhausting  every   means  to  prevent 


METTERNICH   TO   LEBZELTERN.  607 

it.  Tranquil  concerning  the  intentions  of  liis  Majesty 
the  Emperor  Alexander,  but  keenly  sensible  of  the 
dangers  and  catastrophes  which  menace  society,  we 
turn  our  eyes  towards  the  West,  and  will  defend  the 
last  barriers  still  arresting  tlie  torrent  of  fjeneral  destruc- 
tion,  and  if  necessary  we  will  perish  in  the  breach. 

In  the  second  case,  we  see  but  one  way  of  arriving 
at  a  satisfactory  arrangement,  which  is  to  separate  as 
clearly  and  explicitly  as  possible  the  questions  which 
must  be  treated  of  with  the  Porte. 

I  understand  by  tliis  separation  the  distinction  be- 
tween the  rights  which  belong  to  Eussia  and  the  Porte 
by  virtue  of  the  chief  existing  treaties  betAveen  the  two 
Powers,  and  the  very  just  and  natural  wishes  which  his 
Imperial  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  All  the  Eussias  may 
form  for  the  security  of  the  Greek  nation,  returned  to 
duty  and  allegiance  to  the  Ottoman  Porte. 

The  first  of  these  questions  concerns  the  two  Powers 
directly.  As  it  bears  only  on  known  antecedents,  it 
should  be  less  difficult  to  treat  and  to  decide.  An 
enormous  advantage  which  would  result  for  Europe 
would  be  the  ridding  men's  minds  of  the  dancjerous 
notions  that  have  seized  them,  and  bringing  back  the 
people  to  the  hope  of  maintaining  general  peace. 

The  second  question — essentially  distinct  from  the 
first,  with  wdiich  it  could  not  be  amalgamated  without 
both  suffering  equally — should  be  treated  according  to 
the  principles  of  a  clear  and  elevated  policy.  The  in- 
surrection which  has  just  taken  place  in  the  Ottoman 
Empire  has  brought  two  nations  together.  These  people 
are  destined  to  live  under  one  sceptre ;  it  is  their  in- 
terest, as  well  as  that  of  the  sovereign,  that  scenes  such 
as  those  wdiicli  have  just  taken  place  should  not  be 
renewed.     It  is  not  less  the  interest  of  the  whole  of 


608    AUSTRIA'S   ATTITUDE   IN   THE   EASTERN   QUESTION. 

Europe  that  the  internal  peace  of  the  Levant  should 
not,  ever  and  anon,  be  in  danger  of  being  disturbed, 
and  ""he  interest  of  Europe  is  greatly  influenced  by  the 
general  disposition  of  men's  minds  in  that  part  of  the 
world.  Thus  considered,  this  question  seems  to  us  to 
concern  all  the  great  Powers. 


609 


TATISTSCHEFrS  MISSION  TO    VIENNA   AND 

ITS  RESULTS.* 

Tatistscheff  to  Metternich,  Vienna^  March  8,  1822. 

616.  The  Porte  will  declare  officially  and  directly 
to  the  Eussian  Imperial  Ministry  : — • 

'  That  it  accepts  all  the  conditions  contained  in  the 
letter  from  the  Imperial  Ministry  to  the  Grand  Vizier, 
and  in  the  note  from  Baron  de  Strogonow  dated  July  6 

(18). 

'  That  Russia  is  authorised  by  her  treaties,  and  by 
the  rights  of  protection  which  they  secure  to  her  in 
favour  of  the  Greeks,  to  demand  the  inviolability  of  the 
rehgion  which  she  professes,  the  reconstruction  of  the 
churches,  and  a  just  distinction  between  the  innocent 
and  the  guilty. 

'  That  Eussia  shall  be  fully  satisfied  on  these  three 
points. 

'  But  that,  for  the  present,  considering  the  circum- 
stances of  the  Mussulman  nation,  the  Porte  is  unwil- 
lingly obliged  to  confine  itself — 

'  1.  To  evacuating  entirely  and  without  the  least 
delay  tlie  Principalities  of  Wallachia  and  Moldavia ; 

'  2.  To  entrusting  provisionally  the  administration  of 
these  countries  to  the  respective  divans,  under  the 
presidency  of  Greeks,  chosen  by  the  Porte,  according 
to  the  rules  established  for  the  nomination  of  hospodars  ; 

'  3.  To   sending  one   or  more    Turkish    plenipoten- 

•  See  Prokesch,  Geschichte  des  Ah/alls  der  Gricchen. 

VOL.  III.  E  R 


610  TATISTSCHEFFS   MISSION   TO   VIENNA. 

tiaries  to  the  spot,  at  the  same  time  asking  that  the 
Emperor  on  his  side  should  send  there  one  or  more 
Eussian  plenipotentiaries. 

'  4,  To  furnishing  the  Turkish  plenipotentiaries  with 
the  necessary  powers  to  enable  them  to  settle  with  the 
Russian  plenipotentiaries  not  only  all  that  concerns  the 
execution  of  the  treaties  in  the  Principalities  and  their 
provisional  administration,  but  also  to  concert  with  them 
the  measures  by  which  the  Porte  should  be  associated 
with  Russia,  so  as  to  secure  a  happy  and  j^eaceable 
existence  to  those  Christian  provinces  of  the  Ottoman 
Empire  which  the  treaties  have  placed  under  the  protec- 
tion of  his  Imperial  Majesty,  and  which  these  deplorable 
events  have  drawn  into  the  gulf  of  revolution.' 

Tatistscheff  to  Metternich,  Vienna,  March  14,  1822. 

617.  The  insurrection  which  has  just  taken  place 
in  the  Ottoman  Empire  has  brought  two  races  face  to 
face.  These  people  are  destined  to  live  under  one 
sceptre,  and  it  is  their  interest,  as  well  as  that  of  the 
sovereign,  that  scenes  such  as  those  which  have  just 
passed  should  not  be  renewed.  It  is  not  less  the  in- 
terest of  the  whole  of  Europe  that  the  internal  j)eace 
of  the  Levant  should  not  be  ever  and  anon  in  danger 
of  being  disturbed,  and  the  interest  of  Europe  is 
strongly  augmented  by  the  general  disposition  of  men's 
minds  in  that  part  of  the  world. 

The  measures  which  will  be  established  in  common 
in  a  nefTotiation  between  the  allied  Powers  and  the  Otto- 
man  Porte  will  have  for  their  object : 

1.  To  put  an  end  to  the  war  in  those  provinces 
which  are  still  in  a  state  of  insurrection ; 

2.  To  secure  their  tranquil  possession  to  the  Otto- 
man Porte ; 


MEMORANDUM  FOR  EMPEROR  ALEXANDER.   611 

3.  To  make  an  arrangement,  by  means  of  which  all 
the  peaceable  inhabitants  of  the  insurgent  countries  and 
all  those  who  lay  down  their  arms  will  enjoy  the  free 
exercise  of  their  religion,  possess  their  lands  in  quietness, 
and  see  their  goods,  their  persons,  and  their  lives  placed 
under  constant  and  real  protection. 

Let  the  Porte  preserve  the  smeraintS  over  the 
Greek  nation  in  the  Morea  and  other  countries  where 
they  have  risen  and  demanded  their  absolute  freedom ; 
let  these  countries  be  included  in  the  Ottoman  Empire  ; 
and  let  not  the  repose  of  Europe  be  disturbed  in  the 
future  by  intestine  war  in  any  of  these  States  ;  a  com- 
plication which  will  be  continually  recurring  unless 
new  relations  are  established  between  the  contending 
parties. 

Metternich' s  Memorandum  for  the  Emperor  Alexander^ 
Vienna,  April  19,   1822. 

General  Observations. 

618.  The  present  complication  between  Russia  and 
the  Porte  presents  two  branches  of  different  questions, 
which,  in  our  consideration  of  the  state  of  things,  must 
not  be  confounded,  and  which,  to  ensure  order  and 
clearness,  must  still  be  separated,  even  if  it  is  found 
possible  to  include  them  in  the  same  negotiation. 

The  first  concern  what  we  may  call  strict  rights  ;  the 
second  concern  the  general  interest 

Questions  concerning  strict  rights  are  all,  or  should 
be  all,  decided  according  to  the  existing  treaties  and 
conventions  subsisting  between  the  Empire  of  Eussia  and 
the  Porte. 

Questions  of  general  interest  should  find  their  solu- 
tion in  the  need  common  to  the  Porte  and  to  all 
*.  R  R  2 


612  TATISTSCIIEFF'S   MISSION   TO   VIENNA. 

Christian  Powers  of  consolidating  the  relations  between 
the  Ottoman  Empire  and  its  Christian  subjects  in  such 
a  manner  that  the  internal  tranquilhty  of  the  Ottoman 
Provinces,  instead  of  being  constantly  threatened  by 
troubles  and  disturbances,  should  be  secured  by  just 
and  wise  dispositions,  suitable  to  the  rights  and  dignity 
of  the  Porte,  the  well-being  of  its  Christian  subjects,  the 
tranquillity  of  neighbouring  empires,  and  the  mainte- 
nance of  the  grand  pacific  system  of  Europe. 

Actual  Position  of  the  Negotiation. 

1.  Eussia  has  the  undoubted  right  of  requiring  the 
strict  fulfilment  of  all  the  stipulations  contained  in  her  dif- 
ferent treaties  and  conventions  with  the  Porte.  Many  of 
these  stipulations  having  been  infringed  by  the  measures 
which  the  Porte  has  taken  since  the  disastrous  insur- 
rection of  the  Greeks,  Eussia  has  demanded  of  the 
Porte,  as  the  first  condition  of  the  re-establishment  of 
pacific  relations,  tlie  full  and  entire  execution  of  these 
said  stipulations.  The  Powers  allied  to  Eussia  have 
supported  this  just  demand  with  all  the  influence  which 
their  position  enables  them  to  use  with  the  Porte.  The 
Divan  has  invariably  recognised  the  duty  of  executing 
existing  treaties  and  conventions,  and  has  openly  de- 
clared its  wish  to  conform  to  them  ;  but  it  has  added 
to  these  declarations  restrictions  founded  on  pretended 
difficulties  either  temporary  or  local — restrictions  wdiich 
have  up  to  this  time  made  all  reconciliation  impossible 
between  Eussia  and  the  Porte. 

2.  On  the  other  hand,  his  Imperial  Majesty  of  All 
the  Eussias,  from  the  commencement  of  the  present 
crisis,  has  seen  that,  in  order  to  arrive  at  a  definite 
arrangement,  it  would  be  impossible  not  to  bring  for- 
ward   those   questions  which  we    call  here  of  general 


THE   NEGOTIATIONS.  613 

interest.  His  Imperial  Majesty's  enlightened  conscience, 
his  religious  principles,  the  particular  interest  which  he 
takes  in  the  happiness  of  his  co-religionists,  and  in  fact 
all  those  feelings  of  humanity  for  which  he  is  so  re- 
markable, have  induced  the  Emperor,  in  his  direct  com- 
munications with  the  Turkish  Minister,  to  declare  that, 
while  condemning  the  Greek  rebelhon,  he  cannot  remain 
indifferent  to  measures  which  are  to  decide  the  future 
fate  of  that  interesting  portion  of  the  subjects  of  the 
Porte  in  Europe.  Nevertheless  this  question,  never 
having  been  distinctly  treated  of  between  the  Cabinet  of 
Eussia  and  the  other  alhed  Cabinets,  the  latter  have 
not  mentioned  it  at  Constantinople,  and  no  proposition 
with  regard  to  it  has  been  or  could  be  addressed  by 
them  to  the  Divan. 

Such  is  at  jDresent  the  exact  state  of  the  negotiations 
with  the  Porte. 

Subjects  which  these  Negotiations  will  embrace 
in  the  Future. 

«  His  Imperial  Majesty  of  All  the  Ptussias,  applying 
those  principles  of  justice,  moderation,  and  benevolence 
of  which  the  Cabinet  of  Austria  is  so  deeply  sensible,  to 
an  affair  which  offers  such  grave  considerations  for  the 
personal  dignity  of  the  Sovereign  of  Pussia  and  for  the 
interests  of  his  Empire,  has  invariably  announced  his 
resolution  of  not  separating  these  considerations,  how- 
ever grave  they  may  be,  from  those  which  concern  the 
preserving  intact  the  political  system  which  is  at  pre- 
sent the  only  foundation  and  condition  of  the  tranquilhty 
of  Europe  and  the  preservation  of  social  order.  This 
generous  resolution  imposes  on  the  allied  Cabinets  the 
duty  of  uniting  all  their  efforts  to  bring  the  affair  to  an 
issue  equally  calculated  to  satisfy  the  just  and  magnani- 


614  TATISTSCHEFF'S   MISSION   TO   VIENNA. 

mous  views  of  his  Majesty  the  Emperor  Alexander,  and 
to  preserve  Europe  from  the  dangers  which  the  troubles 
of  the  Levant  may  create  for  it,  either  in  the  present,  or 
in  the  immediate  future. 

With  the  object  of  forming  a  clear  idea  of  the  steps 
to  be  taken  to  arrive  at  this  twofold  object,  let  us 
still  regard  the  question  in  these  two  great  divisions. 

1.  The  support  and  execution  of  existing  treaties 
ought  not  to  give  rise  to  any  difficulty.  The  respect 
due  to  treaties  is  the  basis  of  public  right  in  Europe, 
and  the  Porte,  unless  it  wishes  to  renounce  the  position 
it  has  hitherto  occupied  among  the  European  Powers, 
cannot  hesitate  for  a  moment  to  recognise  this  prin- 
ciple. 

2.  Questions  of  general  interest  should  be  founded 
on  desires  in  themselves  just,  and  as  acceptable  to  the 
tribunal  of  good  pohcy  as  to  that  of  humanity.  These 
desires  should  consequently  combine  the  advantage  of 
those  to  whom  they  are  addressed  with  the  real  interests 
of  those  in  whose  favour  they  are  formed  ;  it  is  only 
thus  that  the  object  can  be  attained.  • 

As  there  can  be  no  question  of  infringing  the  rights 
of  the  Grand  Seigneur,  it  is  clear  that  any  ideas  which 
the  Cabmets  may  bring  forward  concerning  the  future 
condition  of  the  Greeks,  must  be  restricted  to  subjects 
of  leijislation  and  administration,  and  not  touch  on  the 
fundamental  relations  between  the  Turkish  Government 
and  its  Christian  subjects. 

Austria  is  certainly  as  far  from  claiming  for  herself 
as  from  recognising  in  any  other  Power  the  right  of 
intermeddling  in  the  internal  affairs  of  a  foreign  State, 
fio  long  as  changes  introduced  in  its  regime  do  not 
jeopardise  the  safety  of  neighbouring  States.  But  in 
the  present  position  of  the  Ottoman  Empire  there  are 


THE   NEGOTIATIONS.  615 

circumstances  which  warn  the  European  Powers,  and 
should  convince  the  Ministers  of  the  Porte  themselves, 
of  the  necessity  of  some  efficacious  remedy  to  obtain, 
not  a  momentary  lull  bought  with  bloodshed,  but  a 
sohd  and  permanent  peace,  without  which  the  exist- 
ence of  that  Empire,  and  the  peace  of  Europe,  cannot  be 
secured.  It  is  in  this  necessity  that  is  found,  not  only 
the  sole  principle  of  right  which  would  justify  and 
direct  the  steps  taken  by  the  Powers  in  approaching 
the  Porte  with  questions  of  general  interest,  but  also  the 
only  means  at  their  disposal  to  induce  that  Power  not 
to  repel  their  advances. 

To  work  on  this  foundation  it  is  above  all  indis- 
pensable that  the  Ottoman  Government  should  proceed 
to  an  act  of  real  amnesty,  and  that  it  should  cause  it  to 
be  observed  and  executed  in  its  full  extent.  It  is 
equally  indispensable  that  the  insurgents  should  submit 
to  this  act. 

The  Ottoman  provinces  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Danube  are  placed  under  certain  regulations.  The 
pacification  of  the  two  Principalities  will  not  be  difficult ; 
for  this  their  evacuation,  the  re-establishment  of  the 
old  order  of  things,  and  the  maintenance  of  the  rights 
guaranteed  by  treaties,  will  suffice. 

The  difficulties  of  the  question  are  therefore  re- 
duced, properly  speaking,  to  the  affairs  of  the  Morea  and 
the  Isles.  But  these  portions  of  the  Porte's  European 
domain  again  are  under  a  great  variety  of  regulations  : 
and  the  difference  of  their  position  in  this  respect  pro- 
ceeds from  their  contact  more  or  less  close  with  the 
Mussulman  population  and  the  local  authortiies. 

It  seems  that  the  reasonable  desires — desires  com- 
patible with  the  sovereign  rights  of  the  Porte — which 
may  be  formed  by   the  Christian    population  of  these 


616  TATISTSCHEFFS   MISSION   TO   VIENNA. 

countries  in  general,  would  be  very  conveniently  classed 
under  the  three  following  heads  : — 

1.  Free  exercise  of  their  religion  ; 

2.  Legislative  arrangements  for  the  safety  of  their 
persons  and  their  goods  ; 

3.  Kegular  administration  of  justice. 

It  is  not  for  the  Austrian  Cabinet  to  enter  into  a 
detailed  analysis  of  these  subjects,  nor  to  examine  how 
the  general  principles  may  be  apj^lied  to  different  cir- 
cumstances and  localities.  Many  of  the  data  required 
for  such  an  examination  seem  to  us  to  be  wanting. 
But  we  do  not  hesitate  to  admit  that  there  are  wants 
and  grievances,  and  that  the  common  interest  of  the 
Government  and  the  people  should  lead  them  to  seek 
means  of  satisfying  the  one  and  remedying  the  other. 
We  know,  besides,  that  there  are  many  laws  and  ad- 
ministrative regulations  which  time,  ill-will,  or  negligence 
have  caused  to  fall  into  neglect,  but  which  might  be 
made  use  of  to  facilitate  the  establishment  of  a  more 
perfect  regime,  and  better  adapted  to  the  present  cir- 
cumstances. In  short,  whatever  the  difficulties  of  the 
task,  it  appears  to  us  that,  the  general  principle  once 
estabUshed,  they  need  not  be  considered  insurmount- 
able. 

SUMMAKY   AND    CONCLUSION. 

If,  as  we  believe,  the  questions  are  clearly  presented 
and  defined  in  the  preceding  exposition,  it  would  be 
on  the  following  points  that  the  Powers  would  hence- 
forth direct  their  communications  with  the  Port;\ 

1.  The  Divan  having  admitted  the  principle  of  the 
full  and  entire  execution  of  the  treaties,  and  there 
being  nothing  to  discuss  but  the  time  and  mode  of 
application,  it  will  be  necessary  to  insist  without  delay 
on  the  immediate  evacuation  of  the  Principahties,  the 


SUMMARY.  617 

re-establishment  of  their  old  regime  and  all  appertaining 
to  it.  The  last  overtures  from  the  Eussian  Cabinet 
contain  opinions  and  statements  with  regard  to  this 
which  it  will  be  certainly  useful  to  bring  forward. 

2.  Representations  must  be  made  to  the  Ottoman 
Government  showing  the  necessity  of  pubhshing  a  new 
act  of  amnesty  for  the  insurgent  provinces,  and  stipu- 
lating for  the  return  to  order  within  a  certain  time,  but 
adding  to  that  representation  the  assurance  that  the 
allied  Powers,  if  the  Porte  wishes  to  profit  by  their  good 
offices,  will  unite  their  efforts  to  induce  tlie  insurgents 
to  submit  to  this  act. 

3.  The  Porte  must  be  required  to  nominate  pleni- 
potentiaries to  meet  at  some  given  place  and  time  those 
who  will  be  appointed  by  his  Imperial  Majesty  of 
All  the  Eussias,  also  by  the  Courts  of  Austria,  Prance, 
Great  Britain,  and  Prussia,  to  negotiate  and  agree  upon 
measures  considered  necessary  by  the  five  allied  Powers 
to  secure  to  the  Ottoman  Empire  a  prompt,  solid,  and 
durable  peace,  and  to  restore  the  diplomatic  and  friendly 
relations  at  present  suspended  between  Eussia  and  the 
Porte. 

In  the  first  place  we  must  discover  whether  the 
allied  Powers  are  agreed  on  the  point  of  view  esta- 
bhshed  and  the  plan  traced  out  in  the  present  despatch  ; 
and  then  whether  they  agree  on  the  best  means  of 
making  known  at  the  Porte  what  it  is  as  much  for  its 
own  interest  as  for  that  of  the  Powers  to  comprehend 
and  accept. 

Taking  into  consideration  the  real  position  of  things, 
the  distances,  and  the  exigencies  of  the  case,  nothing 
seems  either  premature  or  unduly  protracted  in  the 
scheme  of  the  present  Memorandum. 


618  TATISTSCHEFFS  MISSION   TO    VIENNA. 

Metternich  to  Tatistsche^,  Vienna,  April  19,  1822. 

619.  In  sending  your  Excellency  the  several  de- 
spatches mtended  for  his  Imperial  Majesty  of  All  the 
Eussias,  it  only  remains  for  me  to  mention  an  idea, 
favoured  by  reason  and  experience,  but  which  neverthe- 
less I  can  only  touch  upon  to  your  Excellency  in  the 
most  confidential  manner,  as  it  is  impossible  for  me  to 
judge  beforehand  of  the  means  of  execution. 

In  my  Memorandum  (No.  618)  of  this  day,  I  have 
said  that  if  his  Imperial  Majesty  of  All  the  Eussias 
approves  the  ideas  in  this  despatch,  it  will  be  well  to 
estabhsh  and  confirm  the  identity  of  views  and  opinions 
between  the  five  Cabinets,  and  to  arrange  with  each 
other  the  best  means  of  making  known  to  the  Porte 
what  its  own  interest,  not  less  than  regard  to  the  wishes 
of  the  Powers,  should  lead  it  to  comj)rehend  and  accept. 

Nothing  will  facilitate  this  agreement  so  much  as  a 
meeting  of  the  monarchs  and  Cabinets.  Next  Septem- 
ber is  fixed  for  the  meeting  of  their  Imperial  Majesties. 
But  in  regard  to  the  object  I  have  just  pointed  out,  that 
period  may  appear  remote.  Can  the  time  of  the  meet- 
ing be  made  earlier.^  It  is  not  for  us  to  decide,  and  the 
Emperor  my  master  does  not  allow  himself  even  to 
express  an  opinion  on  a  question  connected  with  so 
many  special  considerations,  which  must  be  left  to  his 
august  friend  and  ally  to  determine.  His  Imperial 
Majesty  contents  himself  with  declaring  that  for  liis 
part  he  will  be  ready  to  assist  in  bringing  about  an 
agreement  between  the  monarchs  by  means  of  an  earlier 
meeting.  Still  he  cannot  but  acknowledge  that,  by 
fixing  an  earlier  period,  there  would  be  a  gain  of  pre- 
cious time,  and  a  better  opportunity  for  negotiation,  as 


METTERNICH   TO   TATISTSCHEFF.  619 

no  demonstration  would  make  more  impression  on  the 
Porte  than  the  bare  announcement  of  such  a  meeting. 

As,  nevertheless,  from  the  moment  that  his  Majesty 
the  Emperor  Alexander  consents  to  the  measure  pro- 
posed in  the  Memorandum,  it  will  be  necessary  to  con- 
sult together  as  to  the  time  and  mode  of  putting  it  into 
execution  ;  and  as  it  will  be  very  important  to  gain  all 
that  it  is  possible  in  the  time,  it  seems  to  us  that  it  will 
be  no  less  desirable  tlian  easy  to  bring  together  at 
Vienna  persons  furnished  with  instructions  from  the 
five  Courts,  and  authorised  to  exchange  the  opinions 
of  the  monarchs  as  to  the  best  method  of  coming  to 
an  agreement  as  to  their  intentions,  and  the  steps  to  be 
taken  by  the  Powers. 

In  the  very  probable  supposition  that  the  meeting 
of  the  monarchs  cannot  take  place  sooner,  the  con- 
ferences between  the  Ministers  will  still  have  the  great 
advantage  of  having  prepared  the  work  and  accelerated 
the  decisions  which  are  so  desirable. 

I  submit  these  ideas  to  your  Excellency  with  entire 
confidence.  Make  them  known  to  his  Imperial  Majesty 
of  All  the  Eussias,  if  you  find  them  worthy  to  be  re- 
ceived ;  in  any  case  it  appears  to  me  superfluous  to  assure 
him  that  they  are  dictated  as  much  by  the  feelings  of 
friendship  which  animate  the  Emperor  my  master  for 
the  Emperor  Alexander  as  by  the  solicitude  which  his 
Imperial  Majesty  feels  in  the  interests  common  to  both 
of  them. 

Metternich  to  Nesselrode  [Letter),  Vienna,  April  19,  1822. 

620.  I  have  made  your  negotiator  my  courier,  my 
dear  Count.  M.  de  Tatistscheff  felt  what  I  feel — namely, 
that  speaking  is  better  than  writing  when  one  desires 
to  be  really   understood.     He  will  therefore  speak  to 


620  TATISTSCHEFFS   MISSION   TO   VIENNA. 

you,  and  he  will  speak  truly  when  he  assures  you  that 
we  desire  to  come  to  a  perfect  understanding  with  you. 
But  there  is  at  all  times  and  in  all  circumstances  a  con- 
dition sine  qua  non  in  understandings  :  it  is  to  speak 
clearly,  to  say  what  one  wishes,  how  far  one  would  go, 
and  to  what  extent  assistance  can  be  given.  As  for 
possibihties,  we  need  not  waste  time  in  talking  of  them. 
Believe  me  I  do  not  deceive  myself  in  any  respect,  I  see 
the  necer.sities,  the  difficulties,  the  bad  as  well  as  the 
good  side  of  the  position.  If  M.  de  Tatistscheff  does 
not  carry  away  the  conviction  that  for  the  moment 
there  remains  nothing  for  me  to  say  to  enable  him  to 
understand  the  Emperor's  mind,  it  is  because  he  has  not 
comprehended  my  words  ;  but  I  have  a  feehng  that 
such  is  not  the  case. 

Tlie  affair  which  occupies  us  is  in  itself  very  simple ; 
it  is  only  complicated  by  incidental  causes,  and  they 
often  suffice  to  make  a  really  simple  affair  very  compli- 
cated. I  will  tell  you  in  a  very  few  words  my  opinion 
of  the  situation. 

Your  Emperor  desires  what  my  Emperor  desires — • 
what  in  reality  their  allies  desire  no  less. 

Your  Emperor  sees  as  mine  sees,  that  the  faction  is 
there,  its  mouth  open  to  swallow  social  order  at  the 
first  shaking  of  the  great  pillars  on  which  that  order 
reposes. 

Your  Emperor  has  to  weigh  many  considerations,  all 
of  which  we  are  ready  to  admit. 

But  the  evil  exists,  and  it  is  necessary  either  to  con- 
quer it  or  to  run  the  risk  of  falhng  beneath  it.  Our 
sovereigns  are  strongly  tempted  to  choose  the  first  of 
these  alternatives,  and  quite  determined  to  avoid  the 
second.  It  is  therefore  very  necessary  that  they  should 
understand  each  other.     To  the  end  that  their  ai^ree- 


METTERNICH   TO   NESSELRODE.  621 

ment  may  be  effectual,  it  must  be  extended  to  the 
Allies,  and  in  order  to  this  there  must  be  a  wise  and 
scrupulous  choice  of  terms,  and  great  exactitude  in  the 
announcement  of  principles. 

That  granted,  how  are  they  to  arrive  at  understand- 
ing each  other  ?  For  this,  my  dear  Count,  allow  me  to 
refer  to  the  explanations  which  your  Ambassador  will 
give  you. 

It  only  remains  for  me  to  beg  you  to  believe  your- 
self, and  to  convince  his  Imperial  Majesty,  that  I  have 
this  desire  ;  that  I  discussed  the  matter  with  M.  de 
Tatistscheff  frankly  and  unreservedly  ;  that,  in  short, 
you  are  mistaken  if  you  give  to  any  of  my  words  a 
meaning  contrary  to  reason,  and  inapplicable,  not  only 
to  Austrian  but  to  European  questions,  those  questions 
of  hfe  and  death  which  absorb  all  our  thoughts.  If  I 
were  proposing  an  Austrian  policy  I  should  be  very 
wrong  to  treat  it  as  I  do  this,  which  occupies  me  from 
morning  to  night.  But  I  cannot  see  that  this  is  Austrian 
policy,  unless  that  name  is  given  to  our  extreme  desire 
not  to  be  eaten  up  by  our  brothers  and  friends.  In 
that  case  my  pohcy  is  Austrian  policy,  and  I  shall  do 
my  utmost  to  carry  it  out,  and  certainly  shall  succeed 
better  than  those  good  friends  desire. 

Adieu,  my  dear  Count !  For  the  love  of  God,  no 
prejudices.  Let  them  say  all  they  can  say  :  we  despise 
words.  Let  us  go  on  and  understand  each  other.  Will 
that  be  the  end  of  the  work  ?  I  hope  not ;  then  we  can 
begin  to  act,  and  to  do  all  the  good  things  we  have 
been  hindered  from  doinj?  since  the  events  of  1821. 
Much  evil  to  avoid  and  much  good  to  accomphsh — this 
is  a  grand  and  noble  task. 


622  TATISTSCHEFFS  MISSION   TO  VIENNA. 

Metternich  to  Lebzeltern,  at  St.  Petersburg,  Vienna, 

April  22,  1822. 

621.  I  send  off  the  present  courier  after  the  depar- 
ture of  M.  de  Tatistscheff.  He  left  us  on  the  19th,  in 
consequence  of  an  understanding  between  him  and  me 
on  that  decision. 

Your  Excellency  will  find  in  the  enclosure  the  last 
results  of  our  transactions.  They  will  prove  to  you 
that  we  have  not  ceded  a  single  inch  of  ground  ;  we 
have  remained  firm  to  the  principle  which  has  served  as 
foundation  to  all  our  explanations  since  last  May,  and 
if  we  hojDC  to  gain  opportunities  for  conciliation,  we  are 
still  but  following  out  our  own  plans. 

1  must  make  your  Excellency  aware  of  the  attitude 
which  M.  de  Tatistscheff  and  myself  have  taken  and 
maintained  during  the  whole  time  of  our  conferences. 

My  last  despatches  will  have  convinced  you  that 
your  presentiments  with  regard  to  the  real  motives  of 
M.  de  Tatistscheff 's  journey  were  realised  from  the 
opening  of  his  mission.  My  anxiety  was  to  make  myself 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  all  that  his  mission  con- 
cerned, which  might  include  comphcations  even  with 
St.  Petersburg  itself. 

I  was  not  long  in  discovering  a  restraint  on  certain 
points  which  enabled  me  to  perceive  that  he  was  the 
bearer  of  double  instructions.  My  efforts  have  not  been 
unavaihng.  As  we  advanced  in  our  conferences  the 
attitude  of  M.  de  Tatistscheff  was  more  decided.  It 
was  very  soon  clear  to  me  that  although  he  was  the 
bearer  of  tlie  Emperor's  words,  it  was  impossible  for  him 
to  forget  entirely  that  he  had  instructions  from  the 
Cabinet.  From  that  time  in  my  conversations  with  him 
I  laid  the  most  stress  on  the  first  of  his  functions,  and 


METTERNICH   TO   LEBZELTERN.  623 

I  showed  him  that  with  regard  to  the  second  he  would 
find  in  me  a  safe  ally,  in  order  by  removing  difficulties 
of  various  kinds  to  arrive  at  the  good  end  towards 
which  the  thoughts  of  our  two  monarchs  uniformly 
tend.  I  must  do  justice  to  M.  de  Tatistscheff,  whose 
whole  conduct  was  agreeable  to  my  wishes.  If  his 
explanations  were  somewhat  confused,  this  was  merely 
the  necessary  consequence  of  double  instructions  not 
only  different,  but  actually  in  complete  opposition  to 
one  another. 

One  circumstance  contributed  to  show  this.  M. 
de  Golowkin  had  received  from  the  Cabinet  authority 
equal  to  that  of  M.  de  Tatistscheff*.  Your  Excellency 
also  saw  these  gentlemen  presented  together  at  our 
second  interview.  M.  de  Tatistscheff"  soon  saw  that  in 
that  manner  we  should  never  arrive  at  a  conclusion,  and 
that  consequently  the  most  important  part  of  his  mission 
would  have  failed. 

I  thought  it  best  to  seem  indifferent  to  the  embarrass- 
ment of  M.  de  Tatistscheff",  and  I  left  him  to  manage 
his  own  affairs.  The  third  time  he  came  alone,  and 
besfiied  me  for  the  future  not  to  mention  our  trans- 
actions  to  his  colleague,  till  we  could  show  him  a  result 
arranged  beforehand  between  ourselves.  This  was  the 
cause  of  the  division  which  your  Excellency  remarked 
in  my  despatches.  • 

The  only  official  part  is  the  note  which  I  signed  on 
the  19th.  M.  de  Golowkin  knows  nothing  more  of  our 
work. 

The  Russian  Ambassadors  sent  me  on  April  12  the 
proposal  for  the  Protocol  enclosed.  I  sawM.  de  Tatist- 
scheff" the  same  evening,  and  I  told  him  I  would  not  sign 
it.  He  said  he  had  been  obhged  to  send  me  the  pro- 
posal to  justify  himself  to  his  Cabinet,  but  that  I  was  at 


624  TATISTSCIIEFF'S   MISSION   TO   VIENNA. 

liberty  to  do  as  I  wished.    I  then  told  him  that  I  would 
address  a  common  note  to  him  and  his  colleague,  in  the 
drawing  up  of  which  I  should  take  care  to  avoid  making 
use  of  any  of  the  expressions  in  the  Protocol,  and  there 
fore  would  not  compromise  our  secret  conferences. 

AU  the  confidential  and  secret  despatches  are  there- 
fore absolutely  unknown  to  M.  de  Golowkin.  M.  de 
Tatistscheff  has  said  that  he  wishes  them  to  go  to  his 
Imperial  Majesty  direct.  He  has  even  prevailed  upon 
me  to  introduce  in  a  secret  letter  the  idea  of  hastening 
the  time  for  the  meeting  of  the  Sovereigns.  I  had 
inserted  this  proposal  in  the  first  Minute  of  my  Memo- 
randum, and  M.  de  Tatistscheff  struck  it  out.  '  It  is 
possible,  it  is  even  probable,'  said  he  to  me,  '  tliat  the 
Emperor  after  having  read  this  principal  despatch,  will 
communicate  it  to  the  Cabinet.  If  it  is  mentioned 
there,  it  is  possible  that  the  Cabinet,  Avho  dread  such 
a  meeting  above  everything,  will  make  this  a  pretext  to 
attack  all  the  rest.' 

By  the  present  and  preceding  despatches  I  flatter 
myself  I  have  made  your  Excellency  aware  of  the  whole 
of  the  negotiation  between  M.  de  Tatistscheff  and  my- 
self. It  is  for  you  now  to  serve  the  cause  by  great 
reticence  and  by  continuing  in  the  course  you  have 
hitherto  followed,  weighing  carefully  what  is  to  be  said, 
and  perhaps  even  communicating  with  the  Secretaries  of 
State. 

I  have  nothing  more  to  tell  you  except  that  on  April 
19,  the  very  day  of  M.  de  TatistschefT's  departure,  I 
received  the  Eussian  ambassadors  and  made  over  the 
official  note  to  them.  It  was  just  as  I  had  expected  ; 
M.  de  Golowkin  thought  the  text  too  brief.  I  replied 
to  this  just  criticism  by  remarking  that  M.  de  Tatist- 
scheff having  been   sent  to  us  simply  as  a  bearer  of 


METTERNICH   TO   LEBZELTERN.  625 

words,  I  must  for  my  part  refer  to  my  words.  I  added 
that  in  this  respect  I  was  in  a  far  worse  position  than 
the  ambassadors,  seeing  that  I  could  not,  hke  them, 
boast  of  having  a  witness  to  call  in  my  favour. 

As  M.  de  Tatistscheff  declared  himself  perfectly 
satisfied  with  this  explanation,  M.  de  Golowkin  was  fain 
to  be  so  also. 

I  know,  however,  for  certain,  that  there  have  been 
grave  discussions  between  these  gentlemen  in  the  course 
of  our  conferences.  Whilst  M.  de  Tatistscheff  and  my- 
self were  making  good  progress,  M.  de  Golowkin 
thought  that  nothing  was  being  done ;  he  therefore 
reproached  his  colleague,  who  told  him  that  the 
responsibility  rested  on  him,  and  on  him  alone.  This 
circumstance  is  not  without  interest  for  your  Excellency, 
for  it  will  explain  what  may  seem  contradictory  in  the 
Eeports  of  the  two  Ministers,  and  in  the  effects  which 
they  may  produce,  or  have  already  produced,  at  St. 
Petersburg. 


VOL.  III.  S  8 


626 


VICTORY  OF  THE  AUSTRIAN  OVER   THE 
RUSSIAN  CABINET, 

Metternich  to  the  Emperor  Francis^  Vienna,  May  31, 1822, 

Q22.  By  the  courier  who  arrived  an  hour  ago  from 
St.  Petersburg,  I  have  a  despatch   from  Lebzeltern-o 
the  22nd  inst.,  giving  the  details  of  perhaps  the  greatest 
victory  that  one  Cabinet  has  ever  gained  over  another. 

The  Emperor  has  adopted  all  our  Eeports.  Tatist- 
schefT  will  return  here  in  ten  or  twelve  days,  in  order  to 
place  the  rest  of  the  negotiations  in  our  hands.  The 
Emperor  goes  further.  The  news  of  the  evacuation  of 
the  Principalities  has  made  such  an  impression  on  him 
that  Basot  and  Lebzeltern  are  commissioned  to  make 
known  to  the  Porte,  through  the  two  ambassadors  at 
Constantinople,  that  his  Majesty  is  ready  to  re-establish 
diplomatic  relations  with  the  Divan  immediately.  Count 
Capo  dlstria  is  quite  beaten,  and  is  for  the  present 
silent. 

I  feel  myself  very  fortunate  that  I  may  venture  to 
believe  that  the  whole  position  of  things  in  Europe  can 
now  take  a  definite  and  decided  turn.  We  have  here  a 
power  difficult  to  calculate,  and  that  I,  so  far  as  the 
thing  depends  on  me,  will  neglect  nothing  to  demolish 
the  party,  of  this  your  Majesty  will  not  doubt.  .  .  . 
The  Emperor  will  not  come  before  the  beginning  of 
September.  As  the  matter  stands  we  shall  not  want  his 
Majesty  sooner. 

Mettkrnich. 


METTERNICH   TO   EMPEROR   FRANCIS.  G27 

The  victory  of  which  you  here  speak  is  perhaps  the 
finest  and  the  most  difficult  of  your  Ministry — one  for 
which  I  cannot  sufficiently  thank  you.  But  the  world 
shall  know  also  what  a  benefit  you  have  brought  about : 
hence  you  are. to  take  pains  to  make  this  plain.  I  know 
too  that  I  may  depend  on  your  making  use  of  this  vic- 
tory with  your  accustomed  zeal  for  the  good  cause  and 
for  my  welfare,  and  I  wait  with  impatience  for  Lebzel- 
tern's  despatches.  YnAmis. 

Laxenburg,  June  1,  1822. 

Metternich  to  the  Emperor  Francis,  Vienna,  June  3, 1822. 

623.  I  have  the  honour  to  enclose  for  your  Ma- 
jesty's inspection  Freiherr  von  Lebzeltern's  extremely 
interesting  despatches  from  the  16th  to  the  22nd  May. 

In  reading  these,  your  Majesty  will  share  the  feeling 
which  they  have  excited  in  me.  Since  politics  have 
been  carried  on  in  an  enlightened  manner,  never  has  a 
Cabinet  compromised  itself  like  the  Kussian  Cabinet. 

All  the  remarks  which  your  Majesty  will  find  used 
by  Count  Nesselrode  himself  on  the  loss  of  Eussian  in- 
fluence on  the  Turkish  kingdom  are  correct.  The  pre- 
sent Russian  Cabinet  has  with  one  blow  destroyed  the 
grand  work  of  Peter  the  Great  and  all  his  successors. 
Everything  is  here  on  a  new  basis,  and  what  Russia 
loses  in  moral  strength  the  Porte  gains.  We  have  done 
them  here  a  service  which  they  can  never  sufficiently 
reward,  and  it  will  maintain  ours  as  well  as  the  English 
influence. 

I  have  already  prepared  my  despatch  for  Con- 
stantinople (No.  624).  In  a  few  hours  I  shaU  send 
it  off. 

In  the  morning  I  shall  send    a  courier  to  the  allied 


Courts. 


s  S2  ^ 


628  VICTORY   OF   THE   AUSTRIAN   CABINET. 

I  shall  have  the  honour  of  laying  these  despatches 

before  your  Majesty  on  Wednesday. 

Metternich. 

The  enclosures  are  herewith  returned,  and  I  await  the 
arrival  of  the  despatches  to  be  sent  for  my  inspection. 

Francis. 

Vienna,  June  3,  1822. 

Metternich  to  Count  Lutzow,  in  Constantinople,  Vienna, 

June  3, 1822.    ■ 

624.  A  courier  sent  by  M.  de  Lebzeltern  on  May 
22  (N.S.)  has  brought  news  so  important  that  I  will 
not  delay  an  hour  in  sending  the  present  despatches  to 
your  Excellency. 

The  good  genius  seems  to  be  triumphing  over 
the  evil  one :  our  efforts  have  not  been  vain,  and  the 
faction  which  up  to  this  time  had  restrained  the  ge- 
nerous disposition  of  the  Emperor  of  Eussia  has  been 
obliged  to  give  way  to  reason.  The  despatches  which 
your  Excellency  and  Lord  Strangford  should  have  re- 
ceived directly  from  Lebzeltern  and  Bagot,  before  the 
arrival  of  the  present  courier,  will  have  told  you  so 
much. 

The  courier  sent  by  Baron  de  Lebzeltern  informs 
me : — 

That  the  Emperor  Alexander  has  received  the  com- 
munications which  we  made  through  M.  de  Tatistscheff ; 

That  the  news  of  April  25,  which  Lord  Strangford 
had  wisely  sent  without  loss  of  time  to  St.  Petersburg, 
produced  such  an  effect  on  his  Imperial  Majesty  as  to 
induce  him  to  attempt  a  direct  step  at  Constantinople 
by  means  of  the  representatives  of  the  Courts  of  Austria 
and  England  ;  in  short 

That  M.  de  Tatistscheff  had  received  orders  to  return 


METTERNICII   TO   LUTZOW.  629 

to  Vienna  as  quickly  as  possible  to  carry  out  his  pre- 
vious conferences. 

Such  is  the  information  on  which  I  ground  the  pre- 
sent despatch  to  j'our  Excellency. 

Thus  the  affairs  can  be  proceeded  with,  both  at  Con- 
stantinople and  Vienna. 

That  I  may  have  some  idea  of  the  direction  affairs 
may  take  in  the  first  of  these  places,  it  is  indispensable 
that  I  should  know  the  contents  of  the  despatch  which 
you  and  Lord  Strangford  received  direct  from  St.  Peters- 
burg. That  communication  cannot  be  long  in  reaching 
me.  I  know  exactly  the  business  which  awaits  me  after 
the  arrival  of  M.  de  Tatistscheff;  it  is  quite  enough  for 
me  to  know  that  the  Emperor  Alexander  has  approved 
of  my  secret  despatch. 

If  I  did  not  consider  the  present  moment  of  im- 
mense value,  I  should  have  preferred  to  delay  the 
despatch  of  these  directions  until  the  arrival  of  the  first 
accounts  from  M.  de  Lebzeltern :  they  would  then  be 
more  complete.  But  I  am  so  anxious  not  to  prolong  for 
your  Excellency  and  Lord  Strangford  a  period  of  sus- 
pense (however  short),  that  I  send  immediately  without 
loss  of  time. 

The  information  I  am  able  to  give  you  to-day.  Sir, 
will  much  strengthen  your  position,  and  as  I  wish  that 
Lord  Strangford  may  be  able  to  take  a  similar  position, 
I  beg  him,  as  well  as  your  Excellency,  to  consider  the 
following  overtures  as  addressed  to  you  in  common. 

You  will  find  in  the  enclosed*  the  details  which  I 
have  sent  to  London  concerning  the  whole  of  M.  de 
Tatistscheff's  first  visit. 

Consider  this  despatch  well,  and  I  beg   the  Eng- 

*  These  enclosures  were  Metternicli's  notes  of  the  conversations  with 
TatistscheflF.     (See  No.  61G.)— Ed. 


630  VICTORY   OF   THE   AUSTRIAN   CABINET. 

lish  Ambassador  to  do  the  same.  You  "vvill  both  be  con- 
vinced of  the  follo-vving  facts  : — 

1.  That  I  felt  from  the  first  tliat  the  Eussian 
negotiator  must  be  charged  with  a  double  commis- 
sion, and  I  was  not  long  in  convincing  myself  of  the 
fact. 

2.  That  from  that  time  all  my  anxiety  was  to 
follow  the  line  of  the  Emperor  of  Eussia,  and  not  that 
which  his  minister  has  followed  for  ten  months. 

3.  That  I  founded  the  success  of  the  enterprise 
on  the  following  bases  : — 

Eemovinjy  the  chance  of  immediate  war  : 
Eeserving  to  the  Eussian  monarch  tfie  possibility  of 
justifying  himself  in  his  own  eyes  and  those  of  his 
nation  with  respect  to  the  disastrous  position  of  the 
Greeks  which  must  ensue  from  the  renunciation  of  the 
war,  after  the  hopes  of  this  people  having  been  so  long 
directed  to  the  material  support  of  Eussia  ; 

Keeping  this  within  proper  limits,  admissible  there- 
fore by  all  the  Powers. 

4.  That,  in  short,  in  the  interest  of  the  cause,  I  have 
sent  M.  de  TatistschefF  to  St.  Petersburg  with  a  double 
despatch  similar  to  the  instructions  which  he  brought 
to  Vienna. 

The  communication  which  I  have  made  at  London, 
Paris,  and  Berlin  of  the  results  of  my  negotiation  with 
M.  de  Tatistscheff  has  furnished  me  Avith  the  most  satis- 
factory proofs  of  the  entire  and  uniform  approbation  (^f 
the  three  Cabinets.  The  only  thing  wanting  to  complete 
the  work  was  the  assent  of  his  Imperial  Majesty  of  All 
the  Eussias.  This  arrived  by  the  last  despatch  from 
St.  Petersburg,  in  which  are  enclosed  M.  de  Tatistscheffs 
letters. 

The  explanations  which  it  seemed  to  me  necessary 


METTERNICH   TO   COUNT   LUTZOW.  631 

to  make,  especially  to  Lord  Strangford,  as  to  the  true 
spirit  which  guided  us  in  the  choice  of  means  proposed 
to  his  Imperial  Majesty  of  all  the  Eussias,  by  my  Me- 
morandum of  April  19  (No.  618),  are  so  fully  given  in 
my  despatches  to  Prince  Esterhazy,  that  I  do  not  con- 
sider it  necessary  to  recur  to  them  here.  It  must  be 
evident  to  Lord  Strangford,  that  though  I  allowed  myself 
to  touch  on  the  amelioration  of  the  fate  of  the  Greeks, 
I  have  not  sacrificed  the  practical  sense  which  has 
guided  the  allied  Cabinets  up  to  this  time.  The  present 
complication  has  been  brought  about  by  a  criminal 
faction,  and,  considering  the  end  which  at  present  awaits 
it,  must  not  only  injure  the  cause  of  the  Gieeks,  but 
lessen  that  influence  which  the  policy  of  Peter  tlie  Great 
and  his  successors  had  constantly  exercised  on  the 
Porte  until  the  end  of  the  year  1820,  and  to  which  the 
Eussian  Cabinet  knew  how  to  give  as  much  force  as 
extension. 

Several  grave  mistakes  and  the  lapse  of  but  a  few 
months  have  been  sufficient  to  destroy  this  influence 
and  prepare  a  new  era  for  the  Ottoman  Empire.  If  the 
Porte  owes  this  benefit  to  the  mistakes  of  the  Eussian 
Minister,  it  owes  it  no  less  to  the  rectitude  of  the 
conceptions  and  conduct  of  the  allied  Cabinets  :  it  is  to 
complete  the  work  now  commenced,  that  our  labours 
must  henceforth  be  directed,  and  it  is  in  the  hoj^e  of 
seeing  them  crowned  with  success  that  I  address  an- 
other appeal  direct  to  the  enlightened  zeal,  energy,  and 
talents  of  Lord  Strangford. 

This  is  my  opinion,  and  my  whole  opinion,  on  the 
necessities  of  the  moment.  I  do  not  forget  those  of  to- 
morrow ;  but  before  approaching  them  it  is  absolutely 
necessary  that  I  should  be  informed  on  many  essential 
points,  upon  which  the  next  courier  from  our  ambassa- 


632  VICTORY  OF  THE  AUSTRIAN   CABINET. 

dor  in  Eussia  and  the  arrival  of  M.  de  Tatistscheff  can 
alone  throw  the  light  required. 

The  examination  of  my  transactions  with  M.  de 
Tatistscheff  will  prove  to  you,  Sir,  as  well  as  to  Lord 
Strangford,  that  the  basis  of  the  pacific  measures  we 
have  proposed  may  be  divided  into  two  periods : 

The  first  must  be  occupied  by  the  agreement  between 
the  allied  Cabinets  ; 

The  second  by  the  overtures  which  the  alhes,  in  con- 
sequence of  an  arrangement  among  themselves,  Avill 
make  to  the  Porte. 

The  Eussian  Cabinet  has  just  made,  through  your 
Excellency  and  the  English  ambassador,  a  direct  appeal 
to  Constantinople.  There  is  in  this  an  inversion  of  the 
steps  we  proposed,  and  nevertheless  a  clear  gain.  I 
understand  by  gain — 

1.  The  gain  of  precious  time  in  the  supposition  that 
the  Porte  hastens  the  reconcihation ; 

2.  The  advantages  we  derive  from  the  very  fact  that 
the  precipitation  of  the  Eussian  Cabinet,  if  it  should 
lead  to  results  contrary  to  the  present  apparently  pacific 
intentions  of  that  Power,  could  only  fall  on  Eussia 
herself. 

Your  Excellency  is  consequently  authorised  to  pro- 
ceed, together  with  the  English  ambassador,  in  the  path 
which  the  correspondence  of  Messieurs  Lebzeltern  and 
Bagot  may  have  indicated  to  you.  Your  Excellency 
sees  that  I  do .  not  admit  that  the  Enghsh  ambassador 
has  found  any  difficulty  whatever  in  accepting  the  invi- 
tation which  Sir  Charles  Bagot  must  have  addressed  to 
him. 

Eussia  has  forestalled  the  agreement  proposed  in  my 
Memorandum  of  April  19  by  a  direct  appeal  to  Con- 
stantinople.    It  is  necessary  to  separate  the  periods,  and 


METTERNICH   TO   LUTZOW.  633 

to  understand  that  the  more  we  gain  now  towards  an 
agreement  between  Eiissia  and  the  Porte,  the  less  there 
will  be  to  accomplish  in  the  second  period.  It  is  im- 
possible not  to  see  in  this  fact  an  immense  victory  for 
the  cause  of  real  and  definite  peace,  and  great  facilities 
for  subsequent  negotiation  between  the  allied  Cabinets. 

We  therefore  desire  most  ardently  that  you  will 
succeed  in  effecting  at  Constantinople  as  much  as  pos- 
sible with  the  least  possible  delay.  If  the  Divan  knows 
its  own  interests,  it  will  share  our  wishes.  It  is  Lord 
Strangford's  part  to  make  it  feel  this. 

If  the  Porte  should  insist  on  diplomatic  relations 
being  re-established  as  soon  as  possible,  it  will  be  for 
you,  too,  to  make  the  most  at  St.  Petersburg  of  the  ad- 
vantages which  would  ensue  to  the  Ottoman  Empire 
from  the  condescension  of  his  Imperial  Majesty  of  AU 
the  Eussias  in  this  respect. 

Whenever  it  is  shown  that  Eussia  will  not  main- 
tain the  exaggerated  pretensions  of  the  Greeks  by 
force  of  arms,  it  concerns  that  Power  to  diminish  as 
much  as  possible  the  number  of  victims  caused  by  the 
continuance  of  the  revolt.  The  Cabinet  of  Eussia  is 
convinced  that  freedom  of  speech  is  one  of  its  most 
powerful  weapons  for  prpmoting  the  submission  of  its 
co-religionists.  It  is  therefore  reasonable  that  it  should 
seek  to  place  itself  in  an  attitude  which  would  enable  it 
to  make  use  of  this  weapon.  We  could  not  give  this 
advice,  but  on  the  part  of  the  representatives  of  the 
two  Courts  at  Constantinople  it  is  simple  and  natu- 
ral. You  are  thus  equally  with  Lord  Strangford  at 
liberty  to  explain  yourself  to  the  Eussian  Cabinet  accor- 
ding to  the  impressions  you  receive  in  the  different 
places  to  which  you  have  been  sent  by  Eussia  herself, 
to  make  the  most  of  the  means  of  conciliation,  whilst 


634  VICTORY   OF   THE   AUSTRIAN   CABINET. 

our  attitude  should  lean  to  many  other  aspects  of  the 
question. 

I  will  cause  this  courier  to  be  followed  by  another 
as  soon  as  I  am  in  receipt  of  the  next  communications 
from  St.  Petersburg.  In  the  meantime  I  believe  I  have 
given  your  Excellency  all  the  latitude  necessary  to 
enable  you  to  advance  in  the  new  direction  affairs  have 
just  taken. 

One  thing  I  cannot  too  strongly  recommend  to  you, 
and  that  is  to  take  all  your  steps,  in  conjunction  with 
Lord  Strangford,  in  such  a  manner  that  the  parts  shall 
be  distributed  between  you  with  the  same  success  as 
before.  I  am  equally  desirous  that  you  should  both 
take  care  to  keep  on  good  terms  with  the  representatives 
of  France  and  Prussia,  so  that  not  only  the  Porte, 
but  the  Cabinets  of  these  two  countries,  can  have  no 
doubt  tliat,  if  there  is  any  difference  more  or  less  of 
activity  in  the  parts  played  by  the  ambassadors  and 
envoys  at  Constantinople,  there  is  none  either  in  the 
principles  which  the  allied  Courts  profess  nor  in  the  de- 
terminations and  wishes  of  the  monarchs.  It  is  by  the 
demonstration  of  this  grand  concord  that  Ave  shall  find 
a  powerful  means  of  action  on  the  Divan,  and  a  means 
no  less  powerful  to  enable  W^e  Emperor  to  give  full 
play  to  the  principles  which  serve  as  a  foundation  and 
guide  to  his  personal  resolves.  .  .  . 

I  request  your  Excellency  to  communicate  the  pre- 
sent despatch  and  its  contents,  without  any  reserve,  to 
the  English  ambassador. 

Metternich  to  the  Emperor  Francis,  Vienna,  June  13, 1822. 

625.  Herr  von  Tatistscheff  has  to  present  to  your 
Majesty  an  autograph  letter  from  the  Emperor  Alex- 
ander.    I  have  promised  him   to  inform  your  Majesty 


METTERNICH   TO   EMPEROR  FRANCIS.  635 

of  it  immediately  on  your  Majesty's  arrival,  not  doubt- 
ing but  that  your  Majesty  will  appoint  the  morning  for 
its  reception.  At  the  same  time  I  told  him  that  one 
o'clock  was  likely  to  be  the  hour  to  suit  your  Majesty. 

He  awaits  the  commands  which  I  beg  your  Majesty 
to  make  known  to  him  through  the  Lord  Chamber- 
lain. 

I  have  seen  a  coj)y  of  the  Emperor's  letter.  Nothing- 
more  is  to  be  desired  either  in  that  or  in  the  whole 
despatch,  of  which  your  Majesty  will  receive  an  account 
to-morrow. 

I  j)ray  your  Majesty  to  say  to  Herr  von  Tatistscheff 
that  you  have  been  shortly  informed  by  me  of  the  state 
of  things,  and  that  your  Majesty  has  appointed  to- 
morrow morning  to  receive  the  fuller  details. 

Let  your  Majesty  deign  to  add  that  you  know  the 
share  that  he  (Tatistscheff)  has  himself  had  in  bringing 
about  this  good  position ;  that  your  Majesty  doubts  not 
that  the  Emperor  Alexander  desires  only  what  is  best  in 
everything,  but  that  his  position  was  difficult,  and  that 
by  the  part  he  has  taken  he  will  cover  himself  with 
lasting  honour  ;  that  he  may  reckon  on  your  Majesty 
as  his  best  and  surest  friend,  which  your  Majesty  desires 
■  to  be  on  this  as  on  every  occasion. 

Tatistscheff  hopes  that  you  will  at  the  same  time  say 
that  your  Majesty  counts  on  the  arrival  of  the  Emperor  • 
Alexander  in  September,  considering  this  meeting  as  a 
means  of  present  and  future  safety,  and  looking  on  the 
meeting  of  the  monarchs  as  crowning  the  work. 

I  have  spoken  to  him  of  the  alteration  in  the  choice 
of  the  place  of  meeting,and  heagreeswith  me.  The  reason 
why  he  desires  that  your  Majesty  should  personally  speak 
to  him  of  the  meeting  is  because  the  Emperor  Alexander 
would  feel  himself  strengthened  by  your  Majesty's  words. 


636  VICTORY   OF  THE   AUSTRL\N   CABINET. 

and  would  give  his  decision  at  once,  wliich  might  other- 
wise be  thwarted  by  Capo  d'lstria. 

Mettera^ich. 

I  will  see  Tatistscheff  at  noon  to-day,  and  speak  to 

him  as  you  desire. 

Francis. 

Vienna,  June  13,  1822. 


637 


OUTBREAK  OF  THE  SPANISH  REVOLUTION. 

Metternich  to  the  Emperor  Francis,  Vienna,  July  21, 1822. 

626.  The  accompanying  newspaper  contains  the 
latest  accounts  of  the  state  of  things  in  Madrid. 

From  this  it  seems  that  the  fate  of  that  country 
either  must  be  decided  very  soon  or  is  ah'eady  decided. 
It  is  evident  that  Spain  must  shake  off  the  Eevokition. 
Everything  depends  on  one  single  step  of  the  King — 
will  the  King  take  that  step  ?  According  to  my  feeling 
he  has  already  hesitated  too  long.  Not  on  deliberation, 
but  on  action  now  depends  the  fate  of  the  King  and  his 
whole  people 

Metterxich. 

The  enclosures  are  herewith  returned.  If,  for  want 
of  courage  and  determination,  the  King  of  Spain  does 
not  conquer,  that  will  happen  of  which  I  have  once 
spoken  with  several  of  our  Princes. 

Francis. 

Vienna,  July  22,  1822. 

Metternich  to  the  Emperor  Francis,  Vienna,  July  23, 1822. 

627.  The  house  of  Rothschild  has  received  to-day 
by  a  courier  from  Paris  the  enclosed  newspaper.  This 
will  inform  your  Majesty  that  the  affair  in  Madrid  has 
taken  the  turn  which  from  the  timid  character  of  the 
King  was  only  too  much  to  be  feared. 

The  King  would  have  saved  himself  personally,  and 
he  would  have  saved  his  kingdom,  if  he  had  but  for  one 


638  THE   SPANISH  REVOLUTION. 

minute  shown  personal  moral  courage.     Instead  of  this, 
he  seems  to  have  been  dissolved  in  tears. 

The  result  must  now  inevitably  be  evil  instead  of 
good,  which  it  might  have  been. 

All  faithful  servants  of  the  King  will  be  sacrificed  by 
the  party. 

What  will  happen  to  the  King  God  knows  !  The  insur- 
rection in  the  provinces  will  not  be  put  down  the  sooner 
from  this  state  of  things,  and  Spain  will  lose  the  cer- 
tainty of  salvation  in  a  civil  war  the  consequences  of 
which  cannot  be  calculated. 

If  I  had  been  in  the  Palace  I  would  have  taken  the 
King  and  the  Eoyal  Family,  and,  with  a  strong  guard, 
without  delay  I  would  have  broken  through  the  in- 
surgents, and  thus  in  a  few  hours  saved  the  King,  his 
family,  and  the  kingdom.  It  appears  that  Morillo,  who 
had  the  power  to  do  this,  must  himself  be  bad.  The 
Duke  of  Infantado,  who  apparently  has  contrived  the 
whole  thing,  is  known  to  me  as  a  loyal  but  very  weak- 
minded  man.  The  reaction  of  this  event  will  act  very 
injuriously  on  the  whole  of  Europe. 

Metternich. 

This  outcome  of  the  disturbances  in  Madrid  is  cer- 
tainly very  bad,  and  is  a  disgrace  to  the  King. 

Francis. 

Vienna,  July  24,  1822. 


639 


AUSTRIA'S  UNDERSTANDING  WITH   ENGLAND    ON 
THE  EASTERN  QUESTION. 

628.  Metternicli  to  Lord  Strangford,  English  Ambassador  at  Constanti- 
nople (Letter),  Vienna,  July  31,  1822. 

628.  My  Lord, — The  letter  which  you  addressed 
to  me  on  June  25  ^  arrived  so  shortly  before  the  depar- 
ture of  the  ordmary  post  for  Constantinople  that  it  was 
not  possible  for  me  to  reply  to  it  by  that  medium.  This 
letter  contains  much  that  is  interesting ;  it  embraces 
questions  so  important,  and  treated  in  such  a  luminous 
manner,  that  I  have  had  no  difficulty  in  making  myself 
master  of  the  contents  before  writing  to  your  Excellency. 
Even  this  delay  will  show  you  the  value  I  attach  to  your 
communications. 

That  we  may  understand  each  other,  my  Lord,  it 
seems  to  me  necessary  to  go  back  to  the  time  when  you 
wrote  that  letter. 

The  invitation  of  Bagot  and  De  Lebzeltern  reached 
your  Excellency  at  the  same  time  as  that  of  Count  de 
Llitzow,  The  mere  fact  of  this  invitation  must  have 
convinced  you  not  only  that  the  pacific  disposition 
of  his  Imperial  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  Russia  cor- 
responds in  its  course  with  the  grand  character  of 
that  sovereign,  but  that  the'  desire  of  advancing  the 
arrangement  of  a  difficult  and  painful  afl'air  determined 
the  Emperor  to  declare  the  evacuation  of  the  Princi- 

*  Published  by  Prokesch  in  his  Ah/all  der  Griechen  (1853),  torn.  iii. 
page  368.— Ed. 


640  AUSTRIA   ON   THE   EASTERN   QUESTION. 

palities  a  sufficient  reason  for  beginning  a  negotiation 
mtli  tlie  Porte  as  soon  as  possible,  so  as  to  further  the 
re-establishment  of  its  relations  with  Russia. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Internuncio  has  communi- 
cated to  your  Excellency  my  despatches  of  June  3. 
They  contain  the  Memorandum  of  April  19  (No.  618), 
and  will  have  informed  your  Excellency  that  M.  de 
Tatistscheff  had  taken  that  despatch  to  St.  Petersburg 
to  submit  it  to  his  august  sovereign. 

At  the  time  of  the  drawing  up  of  these  despatches  I 
had  already  made  sure  that  his  Imperial  majesty  agreed 
to  them,  and  that  he  would  send  the  same  negotiator  to 
us  ai^ain  to  meet  in  conference  with  the  ministers  of 
the  allied  Courts  at  Vienna,  to  concert  means  of  action 
on  the  principles  settled  between  M.  de  Tatistscheff  and 
myself  during  the  first  visit  of  that  minister.  Since  then 
your  Excellency  will  have  heard  of  the  arrival  of  M. 
de  Tatistscheff  at  Vienna,  and  of  the  confidential  con- 
ferences established  here  between  the  ministers  of  the 
five  Courts. 

To  these  conferences  I  owe  the  advantaixe  of  beinor 
able  to  extract  from  the  explanations  which  have  already 
taken  place  the  substance  of  the  reply  which  I  have  to 
make  to  you,  my  Lord.  While  placing  the  principal 
subjects  in  the  same  order  which  you  have  followed  in 
your  letter,  I  shall  try  to  explain  with  as  much  precision 
as-  possible  my  feeling  on  tlie  questions  you  have 
treated. 

The  first  is  the  evacuation  of  the  Principalities. 
Your  remarks  on  that  important  subject  are  as  judicious 
as  they  are  true  ;  they  are  open  to  no  objection  :  I  adopt 
them  in  their  entirety.  Nothing  can  excuse  the  Porte 
if  it  does  not  proceed  to  that  evacuation  in  good  faith, 
■without  tergiversation  and  without  delay.     I  admit  all 


METTERNICH  TO  LOUD  STRANGFOHD.      641 

you  say,  my  Lord,  as  to  the  numerous  embarrassments 
which,  in  the  critical  situation  of  the  Turkish  Govern- 
ment, may  impede  the  execution  of  this  measure  ;  but 
everything  should  give  way  to  the  necessity  of  fulfilhng 
a  formal  eng;asement  such  as  the  Porte  has  made  to  the 
mnisters  of  the  allied  Courts  in  the  clearest  and  most 
positive  terms.  This  engagement,  more  than  once  re- 
newed and  confirmed  in  consequence  of  your  different 
representations,  has  placed  you,  my  Lord,  in  so  strong 
a  position,  it  gives  you  so  much  right  and  latitude  of 
action,  that  you  will  be  perfectly  justified  in  constantly 
pressing  forward  the  accomplishment  of  a  measure  which 
must  precede  all  our  other  operations. 

The  direct  communications  from  St.  Petersburg  will 
have  informed  you  that  it  is  not  to  the  immediate  and 
complete  execution  of  the  four  points  of  the  Eussian 
ultimatum — points  admitted  in  principle  by  the  Grand 
Seigneur — but  to  the  simple  fact  of  the  evacuation  of 
the  Principalities,  that  his  Imperial  Majesty  has  connected 
the  offer  of  sending  a  plenipotentiary.  It  seems  to  me 
that  the  grandest  proof  of  moderation  which  the  Em- 
peror Alexander  could  give  to  the  Porte  and  to  his  allies 
was  his  insisting  only  on  that  clause  with  the  view  of 
smoothing  over  the  difficulties  to  which  the  events  of  the 
last  year  have  given  rise  between  the  two  Powers.  The 
Porte  is  consequently  more  than  ever  bound  to  agree  to 
a  measure  which  moreover  imposes  no  real  sacrifice 
upon  it,  but,  on  the  contrary,  if  it  were  not  required  by 
the  Powers  in  conformity  with  the  stipulations  of  treaties, 
would  be  dictated  by  its  own  interest  and  that  of  its 
subjects. 

I  also  agree  with  your  Excellency  as  to  the  incon 
venience  of  insisting  on  the  Porte  sending  plenipoten- 
tiaries before  having  positive  assurances  on  the  article 
VOL.  III.  T  T 


642  AUSTRIA   ON   THE    EASTERN   QUESTION. 

of  evacuation.  The  nomination  even  of  Hospodars, 
supposing  it  definitely  decreed,  would  not  compensate 
for  the  non-execution  or  imperfect  execution  of  that 
article.  You  will  have  seen,  my  Lord,  by  many  of  the 
recent  explanations  of  the  Eussian  Cabinet,  that  his 
Imperial  Majesty,  while  admitting  that  there  may  be 
difficulties  in  the  choice  of  men  for  the  government  of 
a  country,  does  not  recognise  in  these  difficulties  a 
vahd  excuse,  either  for  continuing  to  inflict  on  that 
country  the  sufferings  and  ravages  which  weigh  on  the 
PrincipaHties,  or  for  postponing  the  execution  of  the 
treaties. 

I  flatter  myself,  however,  my  Lord,  that  thanks  to 
your  cares  and  perseverance,  supported  by  the  activity 
of  your  colleagues,  the  evacuation  will  have  made  real 
progress  in  the  interval  which  has  elapsed  since  the 
departure  of  your  letter,  and  that  it  will  soon  be  con- 
cluded. If  in  this  case  you  have  thought  fit  to  approach 
the  question  to  which  I  have  alluded,  your  next  commu- 
nications will  probably  inform  us  of  the  first  results  of 
your  labours. 

Following  tlie  Memorandum  of  April  19  you  have, 
my  Lord,  in  your  letter  separated  the  subject  of  the 
amnesty  from  that  of  sending  plenipotentiaries. 

It  is  true  that  these  two  subjects  were  placed  thus  in 
the  above-mentioned  work,  where  they  simply  served  to 
indicate  the  bases  of  agreement  between  the  Powers. 
But  in  fact  they  cannot  be  treated  separately,  and  this 
I  will  endeavour  to  show. 

The  great  affair  which  occupies  us  offers  two  points 
of  view,  distinct  in  themselves,  but  both  tending  towards 
the  same  end.  One  regards  the  execution  of  the  treaties 
between  Eussia  and  the  Porte,  and  in  the  Memorandum 
of  April  19  bears  the  designation  of  '  questions  of  right.' 


METTERNICH   TO   LORD   STEANGFORD.  643 

The  other  is  what  in  the  same  paper  we  have  placed 
under  the  head  of  '  subjects  of  general  interest.' 

The  allied  Courts  have  up  to  this  time  in  their  com- 
munications A^dth  the  Porte  insisted  only  on  the  articles 
comprehended  under  the  first  of  these  heads ;  but  what 
is  at  present  the  direct  object  of  our  efforts  ?  It  is  to 
re-estabhsh  as  soon  as  possible  the  former  relations  be- 
tween Eussia  and  the  Ottoman  Empire  till  late  events 
disturbed  and  suspended  them.  We  all  know  and  re- 
cognise that  it  is  impossible  to  put  an  end  to  the  state 
of  uncertaintv  in  which  the  Porte  is,  and  the  troubles 
of  every  kind  which  desolate  almost  all  parts  of  the 
Empire,  unless  it  arrives  at  a  full  and  entire  reconciha- 
tion  with  its  powerful  neighbour.  Now,  to  bring  about 
that  reconciliation  it  is  not  enouo-h  that  what  we  call 
questions  of  right  should  be  properly  regulated.  The 
Emperor  of  Eussia  Avill  not  re-establish  his  ordinary 
diplomatic  relations  vdih  the  Porte  on  the  one  ground 
of  the  return  of  that  Power  to  the  strict  observation  of 
treaties. 

His  Imperial  Majesty  did  not  recall  his  embassy  to 
Constantinople  simply  for  the  violation  of  these  treaties. 
He  did  not  wish  his  representative  to  be  the  spectator  of 
scenes  such  as  those  which  daily  took  j^lace  under  his 
eyes  in  May  1821.  His  Imperial  Majesty  does  not  msh 
to  appoint  another  representative  to  be  the  spectator  of 
similar  scenes  and  to  be  recalled  in  his  turn.  And  what 
in  truth  would  the  Emperor  gain,  what  would  the  Porte 
and  Europe  gain,  by  seeing  a  Eussian  embassy  present 
itself  at  Constantinople,  establish  itself  there,  only  to 
be  removed  acfain  ?  Would  this  second  recall  be  accom- 
panied  by  the  same  arrangements  as  the  first?  And, 
independently  of  that  great  obstacle,  could  the  Emperor 
Alexander  after  all  proceed  to  the  re-establishment  of  a 

T  T  2 


644  AUSTRIA   OX   THE   EASTERx\   QUESTION. 

permanent  embassy  at  Constantinople  without  having 
shown  by  patent  acts  that,  while  condemning  the  revolt, 
he  has  neglected  no  legitimate  and  pacific  means  to  put 
an  end  to  these  cruel  reactions  and  to  re-establish  tran- 
quillity in  a  neighbouring  State,  now  a  prey  to  the  most 
frightful  revolutions  ? 

Such  is,  my  Lord,  the  position  in  which  the  question 
is  now  placed.  The  Emperor  of  Eussia  has  decided  not  to 
re-establish  the  embassy  at  Constantinople  until  he  has 
satisfied  himself  on  what  he  regards  as  a  sacred  duty, 
and  assured  himself  at  the  same  time  that  its  continu- 
ance will  be  probably  secure  from  any  fresh  interruption. 
The  negotiation  which  his  Imperial  Majesty  proposes  to 
the  Porte  must  first  of  all  furnish  him  with  this  sua- 
rantee. 

I  well  know  that  this  determination  will  at  first  open 
up  a  vast  field  for  the  Turkish  Government  to  take 
umbrage,  and  that  it  will  object  strongly  to  the  prospect 
of  a  transaction  in  which  it  sees  only  danger  to  its  power 
and  humiliation  to  its  pride.  But  your  Excellency,  in 
consulting  the  second  part  of  the  Memorandum  of  April 
19,  will  have  perceived  that  the  concessions  to  be  ob- 
tained from  the  Porte  will  be  circumscribed  within  pre- 
cise and  moderate  limits ;  and  if  at  the  time  of  the  first 
explanations  on  this  subject,  we  could  make  the  Porte 
comprehend  that  there  is  to  be  no  attack  on  its  sove- 
reignty ;  that  we  only  demand  from  it,  for  the  re-esta- 
blishment and  consolidation  of  the  internal  peace  of  its 
empire,  things  just,  practicable,  compatible  with  its 
dignity,  agreeable  to  its  true  interests,  and  manifestly 
required  by  circumstances  and  the  local  situations  of 
the  moment,  I  should  be  far  from  renouncing  the  hope 
of  conquering  a  repugnance  which  is  perhaps  in  a  great 
measure  owing  to  the  false  and  exaggerated  ideas  which 


METTERNICH  TO  LORD  STRANGFORD.      645 

that  Government  has  formed  on  the  intentions  and  pro- 
jects of  the  Powers.  I  beheve,  my  Lord,  that  without 
engaging  you  in  a  discussion  on  these  dehcate  points 
more  than  is  necessary  to  reply  to  the  questions  which 
the  Porte  will  address  to  you  on  these  subjects,  you  w411 
find  in  the  general  situation  and  in  the  urgent  needs  of 
the  Ottoman  Empire  irresistible  reasons  to  place  before 
the  Divan  to  induce  it  not  to  reject  this  negotiation. 

If  the  Sultan  wishes  to  re-estabhsh  his  authority 
over  the  insurgent  provinces  otherwise  than  by  force  of 
arms — and  it  is  doubtful  if  he  could  still  reckon  on  the 
efficacy  of  that  force — he  must  make  an  amnesty  and 
conditions  acceptable  to  the  Greeks.  The  observations 
of  your  Excellency  on  the  uselessness  of  a  mere  act  of 
amnesty,  such  as  the  Porte  has  several  times  tried,  are 
perfectly  just  ;  it  is  therefore  necessary  that  the  act 
which  must  lead  to  a  real  pacification  should  be  of  an 
essentially  different  character.  We  have  seen  more  than 
once  that  a  measure  which  in  one  form  would  have 
been  without  effect  may  under  another  form  bring 
about  satisfactory  results. 

It  seems  clear  to  us  that  the  Ottoman  Government, 
in  the  state  of  exasperation  and  unbounded  distrust 
which  at  present  reigns  among  the  Greeks,  cannot 
obtain  by  its  proclamations,  however  they  are  drawn 
up,  the  faintest  resemblance  to  a  submission,  as  long  as 
the  alhed  monarchs,  and  especially  the  Emperor  of 
Kussia,  do  not  raise  their  voices  in  support  of  the 
Sultan.  But  they  can  only  make  these  voices  heard 
w^hen  they  have  fixed  and  well  understood  bases  to 
offer  as  conditions  of  the  submission.  It  is  then  only 
that  they  can  address  themselves  to  the  insurgents  with 
the  dignity  suited  to  their  high  station  or  with  any 
reasonable  hope  of  success.     If  their  voices  are  heard 


646  AUSTRIA  ON  THE  EASTEEN  QUESTION. 

the  end  is  gained  :  if  not,  those  who  refuse  to  hear  will 
have  to  depend  upon  themselves  ;  they  will  be  abandoned 
by  the  Powers,  and  left  to  be  treated  as  the  Turks 
always  treat  rebellious  subjects. 

By  following  out  this  idea,  you  will  be  convinced, 
my  Lord,  that  if  in  the  Memorandum  of  April  19,  the 
amnesty  and  the  negotiation  are  found  separately 
mentioned,  these  two  points  are  not  the  less  inseparable. 
You  will  also  see  that  this  negotiation,  on  which  Eussia 
and  her  allies  insist,  is  neither  a  gratuitous  pretension 
nor  a  project  conceived  with  any  other  views  or 
interests  whatever  than  those  of  the  pacification  of  the 
Ottoman  Empire.  This  is  the  first  and  indispensable 
condition  of  the  termination  of  these  unfortunate  com- 
phcations.  Everything  is  included  in  the  propositions 
which  the  Powers  address  to  the  Porte.  The  re-esta- 
blishment of  direct  relations  with  Eussia  is  impossible 
until  an  end  is  put  to  those  horrors  which  are  ravaging 
the  Ottoman  provinces.  There  is  no  way  of  arriving  at 
this  end  except  a  complete  and  sohd  amnesty.  This 
amnesty,  in  order  to  be  something  more  than  a  mere 
string  of  words,  absolutely  requires  the  concurrence  of 
the  European  Powers.  On  the  other  hand,  such  a  con- 
currence can  only  take  place  when  there  is  a  complete 
understanding  on  the  fundamental  bases  of  the  amnesty 
and  on  the  necessary  clauses  in  order  to  make  it  accept- 
able to  the  insurgents.  In  short,  that  these  clauses  may 
be  determined,  they  must  be  discussed  and  considered 
in  a  previous  negotiation.  This  reasoning  seems  to  me 
so  unanswerable  that  the  Porte  itself,  in  spite  of  all  its 
objections  against  the  intervention  of  Christian  Powers 
in  questions  of  which  it  believes  they  are  ignorant,  must 
in  the  end  see  the  force  of  it,  unless  it  declares  frankly 
that  it  attaches  no  value   to  the  re-establishment  of  its 


METTERNICH  TO  LORD  STRANGFORD.      647 

relations  with  Eussia,  nor  to  the  pacification  of  its  pro- 
vinces, nor  to  the  future  fate  of  its  own  subjects. 

You  observe,  my  Lord,  that  the  Porte  would  perhaps 
lend  itself  more  willingly  to  a  general  negotiation,  if  it 
could   hope    to   obtain   by  it   some   real  and  positive 
advantages.     You  quote  the  wish  of  several  members  of 
the   Divan,  that   the   Powers  allied   to   Eussia   would 
undertake  a  mediation  between  her  and  the  Porte,  in 
order  to  smooth  the  difficulties  relative  to  the  Asiatic 
frontiers,  adding,  however,  that  you  are  decidedly  averse 
to  such  an  idea.     In  this  I  see  the  extreme  wisdom  of 
your  Excellency,  and  all  who  may  be  informed  of  the 
fact  will  no  doubt  applaud  with  me.     I  need  no  great 
consideration  to  rate  such   a  project  at  its  just  value. 
It  would  alter  the  character  of  the  negotiation  to  which 
we  invite  the  Porte,  and  mix  subjects  together  which 
have   nothing  in    common  with    the    object   at   which 
we  aim.     The  present  case  is  not  one  for  the  calcu- 
lation of  gain  and  loss,  or  an  arrangement   of  claims 
and    concessions.     It   is    a   grand  plan  of  pacification 
conceived  by  the  alhed  Powers  with  the  most  disinter- 
ested and  enlightened  views,  and  in  which  the  Porte 
(however  indifferent  it  may  be  as  to   the  maintenance 
of  peace  in  Europe)  is  called  more  directly  than  any 
other  Power  to  join  for  the  preservation  of  its  people, 
its    power,  and   its   future    existence.     Any  advantage 
which   the  allied  Powers  may   derive  from  this   nego- 
tiation to  consolidate  the  general  tranquillity,  however 
great  it  may  appear  to  us,  will  nevertheless  be  far  less 
than  what  must  result    to  the  Porte.     How  could  it 
pretend   to    compensations   in  an   aflair  where  it  is    as 
much  a  question  of  working  out  its  own  salvation  as  of 
avoiding  the  most  terrible  catastrophes  ?   Nothing  could 
be  imagined  worse  for  the  success  of  the  negotiation. 


648  AUSTRIA   ON   THE   EASTERN   QUESTION, 

than  gratuitously  to  add  one  difficulty  more  to  those 
it  already  has.  If  such  a  proposition  could  have  issued 
from  the  Russian  Cabinet,  would  not  the  Porte  have 
accused  Russia  of  complicating  questions  to  render  them 
interminable,  or  of  serving  her  own  private  interests? 
For  the  rest,  I  leave  this  point,  my  Lord,  to  the  ascend- 
ency which  yoLi  have  acquired  over  the  minds  of  the 
Turkish  ministers,  and  of  which  you  have  given  more 
than  once  a  striking  proof.  You  will,  I  have  no  doubt, 
be  able  to  make  them  comprehend  what  a  mistake  it 
would  be  to  bring  forward  a  claim  which  would  cer- 
tainly be  rejected  by  the  Powers. 

I  come  at  last  to  the  different  plans  suggested  by 
your  Excellency  to  induce  the  Porte  to  make  some  con- 
ciliatory and  honourable  advance  towards  Russia,  in 
consequence  of  the  evacuation  of  the  Principalities  and 
the  nomination  of  Hospodars.  I  accept  as  perfectly 
sound,  wise,  and  useful,  all  that  your  Excellency 
proposes  on  this  head.  A  notification,  drawn  up  in 
terms  chosen  or  at  least  fully  approved  by  your 
Excellency  and  your  colleagues,  and  addressed  directly 
to  his  Imperial  Majesty  of  All  the  Russias,  or  to  his 
Cabinet,  could  not  but  produce  a  favourable  effect ;  and, 
indeed,  any  act  of  the  Porte  which  stated  its  sincere 
desire  to  resume  its  former  relations  with  Russia,  and 
proclaimed  a  just  and  reasonable  confidence  in  the 
intentions  of  the  Emperor  Alexander  and  his  august 
alhes,  would  be  a  great  step  towards  the  accomplish- 
ment of  our  wishes.  Nevertheless,  my  Lord,  I  am  far 
from  admitting  that  the  success  of  such  a  step  would 
dispense  with  the  necessity  of  insisting  on  the  sending 
of  the  plenipotentiaries ;  and  after  all  that  I  have  had 
the  honour  to  explain  to  you  in  this  letter  on  the 
object  and  aim  of  a  negotiation  which  we  consider  the 


METTEENICH  TO  LORD  STRANGFORD.     649 

only  means  of  arriving  at  the  pacification  of  the  Otto- 
man Empire,  you  cannot  have  any  doubt  on  the  sub- 
ject. 

I  will  end  vdth  a  short  resume  of  the  observations 
contained  in  the  present  letter. 

1.  The  evacuation  of  the  Principalities,  a  measure 
to  which  the  nomination  of  the  Hos^^odars  is  only 
regarded  as  an  accessory,  must  be  effectually  accom- 
plished. 

2.  To  enable  us  to  make  a  definite  arrangement,  the 
Porte  must  acknowledge  to  the  Ministers  of  the  allied 
Courts,  as  a  fact  no  longer  to  be  hidden,  the  necessity 
of  offering  the  insurgents  an  amnesty  drawn  up  in 
terms  likely  to  bring  them  to  submit  to  its  authority. 

3.  As  soon  as  the  Porte  has  acknowledged  this 
fact,  it  must  be  convinced  that  under  present  cii'cum- 
stances  any  amnesty  which  is  not  strengthened  by  the 
concurrence  and  support  of  the  allied  Powers,  and  par- 
ticularly of  Kussia,  would  be  ineffectual  and  useless, 

4.  As  this  concurrence  and  support  can  only  be 
obtained  by  means  of  a  preliminary  negotiation,  the 
Porte  cannot  refuse  to  appoint  plenipotentiaries  for  this 
negotiation,  which  is  moreover  the  condition  sine  qua 
non  of  the  re-establishment  of  its  relations  with  Eussia. 

5.  Any  step,  any  act  of  the  Porte  tending  to 
facilitate  its  reconcihation  with  Eussia  will  be  highly 
approved  by  the  allied  Powers,  provided  it  is  not  a 
pretext  for  eluding  the  negotiation  proposed  by  the 
Powers  with  the  A^dsest  and  most  salutary  intentions. 

Your  Excellency  now  knows  my  whole  mind  on 
those  points  which  in  the  present  state  of  the  question 
I  regard  as  most  essential.  Being  approved  and  shared 
by  the  ministers  with  whom  I  have  the  honour  to 
confer    on    this   important    affair,    and   in   eveiy   way 


C50  AUSTEIA   ON  THE   EASTERN   QUESTION. 

according  to  the  intentions  of  your  Government  as  far 
tliey  are  known  to  me,  I  believe,  my  Lord,  that  my 
sketch  may  serve  you  as  a  guide  in  any  steps  you  may 
take  with  the  ministers  of  the  Porte.  As  to  the  time 
for  makino;  use  of  it :  as  to  the  choice  of  modes  of 
conquering  the  difficulties,  of  which  no  one  can  judge 
better  than  yourself;  as  to  the  modifications  which 
may  be  caused  by  chances  and  incidents  impossible  to 
foresee ;  we  leave  all  that  to  your  prudence,  your  zeal, 
and  your  talents.  These  quahties  will  enable  you  to 
fulfil  the  difficult  task  with  which  you  are  charged.  I 
have  only  to  add,  &c. 


651 


RESULTS  OF  THE  CONGRESS  OF   VERONA. 

Protocol    signed   by   the   Plenipotentiaries   of  Austria,    France, 
Prussia,  and  Russia,  at  Yerona,  November  19,  1822. 

629.  The  plenipotentiaries  of  Austria,  France,  Prus- 
sia, and  Russia,  thinking  it  necessary  to  determine  the 
cases  in  which  the  engagements  made  with  the  Court  of 
France  by  the  Courts  of  Austria,  Prussia,  and  Eussia — in 
the  supposition  of  a  war  declared  or  provoked  by  the 
present  Government  of  Spain — would  be  binding  for  the 
Powers  who  have  taken  part  in  them,  have  agreed  to 
determine  precisely  the  said  engagements  in  the  follow- 
ing terms  : — 

Akticle  I. 

The  three  cases  in  which  the  eventual  engagements 
between  the  four  Powers  who  have  signed  the  present 
proces-verbal  would  become  immediately  obhgatory 
are  : — 

1.  That  of  an  armed  attack  on  the  part  of  Spain 
against  the  French  territory,  or  of  an  official  act  of  the 
Spanish  Government  provoking  directly  to  rebelhon  tlie 
subjects  of  one  or  other  of  tlie  Powers. 

2.  That  of  his  Majesty  the  King  of  Spain  being  de- 
clared to  have  forfeited  his  throne ;  or  an  action  being 
brought  against  his  august  j)erson,  or  an  attempt  of  the 
same  kind  being  made  against  the  members  of  his  family. 

3.  Til  at  of  a  formal  act  of  the  Spanish  Government 
infringing  the  rights  of  the  legitimate  succession  of  the 
Eoyal  family. 


652  CONGRESS  OF  VERONA. 

Article  II. 

Considering  that  independently  of  the  cases  above 
specified  and  defined,  there  may  arise  at  one  or  other  of 
the  Courts  what  might  be  regarded  as  of  the  same 
value  and  producing  the  same  effects  as  those  designated 
in  Article  I.,  it  is  decided  that  should  such  non-specified 
case  or  any  other  analogous  case  be  reahsed,  the  minis- 
ters of  the  allied  Courts  accredited  to  his  Most  Christian 
Majesty  should  unite  with  the  Cabinet  of  France  to 
examine  and  determine  if  the  case  in  question  should  be 
considered  as  belonging  to  the  class  of  the  casus  foederis 
foreseen  and  defined,  and  as  such  demanding  the  direct 
application  of  the  engagements  taken  by  the  Powers. 

Metternich,  Lebzeltern,  Moxtmorency,  Caraman,  Count 
DE  LA  Ferronnays,  Chateaubrl\nd,  Bernstorff,  Hatz- 
FELD,   Nesselrode,   Lievex,    Tatistscheff,  Pozzo  di 

BORGO. 

Conference  Protocol. 

630.  The  ministers  of  the  Cabinets  of  Austria, 
France,  Prussia,  and  Eussia  are  met  to-day  with  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  to  confer  vni\i  his  Excellency  on 
the  proces-verhal  signed  yesterday  (No.  629),  and  on  the 
instructions  that  each  of  these  Courts  j)roposes  to  address 
to  its  minister  at  Madrid. 

The  Duke  of  Wellington  has  explained  the  different 
points  of  view  from  which,  as  plenipotentiary  of  the 
British  Government,  he  regards  both  these  steps ;  and 
in  consequence  of  the  discussion  produced  by  these 
exjDlanations,  the  Duke  has  undertaken  to  communicate 
to  the  ministers  of  the  four  Cabinets  the  substance  of 
his  observations  in  writing,  in  the  form  of  a  confidential 
note. 
•    The  question  of  the  Protocol  was  treated  afterwards  ; 


METTERNICH   TO   THE   EMPEROR   FRANCIS.         653 

and  after  many  forms  having  l^een  examined,  each  of 
which  presented  difficulties  or  inconveniences,  it  was 
arranged : 

That  there  shall  be  no  general  Protocol  on  the  nego- 
tiations and  conferences  relative  to  the  SjDanish  affair. 

That  the  despatches  exchanged  between  the  minis- 
ters or  presented  to  the  Conferences  shall  be  regarded  as 
simple  communications  from  Cabinet  to  Cabinet. 

That  it  shall  be  the  same  with  the  confidential  note 
announced  by  the  Duke  of  Wellington. 

Metternich  to  the  Emperor  Francis,  Verona,  December 

11,  1822. 

631.  Sire, — I  have  the  honour  to  send  without 
delay  to  your  Imperial  Majesty  the  enclosed  Eeports, 
which  I  have  received  from  Paris  by  a  courier  sent  by 
the  Government  to  the  French  Ambassadors.  Your  Im- 
perial Majesty  will  also  find  enclosed  a  letter  from  the 
Viscount  de  Montmorency.  My  mind  is  made  up  after 
perusing  a  private  letter  which  the  Marquis  de  Caraman 
received  from  M.  de  Montmorency,  and  which  he  gave 
me  to  read.  From  all  these  things  put  together  it 
appears  to  me — 

1.  That  the  French  minister  reckons  on  connect- 
ing himself  directly  with  the  three  Continental  Courts. 

2.  That  he  wishes  the  sending;  of  instructions  from 
the  Cabinets  met  at  Verona  to  the  representatives  at 
Madrid  to  be  considered  as  a  question  of  prudence. 

Now,  in  this  there  is  some  confusion  of  ideas. 

We  foresaw  the  possibility  that  the  French  Govern- 
ment woidd  not  be  able  to  decide  on  connectinoj  its 
diplomatic  course  with  our  own.  It  was  determined 
that  in  this  case  the  instructions  to  the  embassies  of  the 
three  Courts  should  be  sent  without  delay. 


654  CONGRESS  OF  VERONA. 

The  French  minister,  by  deciding  to  place  himself 
on  the  same  moral  ground  with  the  allies,  seems  to 
desire  that  the  course  arranfjed  should  undergo  some 
modification.  He  shows  this  by  his  proposal  to  declare 
that  the  time  of  sending  the  instructions  to  Madrid 
must  depend  on  questions  of  prudence  to  be  considered 
by  the  Conference  at  Paris.  In  that  the  French  minister 
deceives  himself.  There  exists,  relative  to  the  sending 
of  these  instructions,  a  stronger  jDOwer,  and  one  which 
must  decide  it  quite  independently  of  every  other  cal- 
culation— the  end  of  the  Congress.  Our  despatches 
should  consequently  be  expedited ;  the  discretional 
question  exists  for  France  alone,  and  is  confined  to  the 
simple  fact  of  deciding  if  that  Power  wishes  to  recall  its 
own  embassy  at  the  same  time  as  the  allies  ;  it  cannot  be 
extended  to  the  consideration  whether  the  recall  of  the 
ministers,  either  of  the  allies  or  the  representative  of 
France,  can  be  suspended  even  momentarily.  I  do  not 
doubt  that  your  Majesty  will  regard  the  alternative  from 
the  same  point  of  view  in  which  it  appears  to  me. 

I  pray  your  Majesty  not  to  notice  the  remark  made 
by  M.  de  Montmorency  relative  to  the  despatch  from 
the  Austrian  Cabinet  to  Count  Brunetti.  This  remark 
arises  from  a  mistake  on  M.  de  Montmorency's  part. 

Deign  to  accept,  Sire,  the  testimony  of  my  pro- 
foundest  respect. 


CIRCULAR   DESPATCH.  655 


Circular  Despatch  sent  hy  the  three  Allied  Courts — Aus- 
tria^ Russia,  and  Prussia — to  their  Ambassadors  at 
the  other  Courts.      Verona,  December,  1822.* 

632.  The  Monarclis  of  Austria,  Russia,  and  Prussia, 
at  the  conclusion  of  the  Conference  at  Verona,  sent 
the  following  circular  despatch  to  their  ambassadors  at 
the  other  Courts.  The  original  documents  were  signed 
by  the  three  Cabinet  ministers — Prince  Metternich,  Count 
Nesselrode,  and  Count  Bernstorff. 

Verona,  December  14,  1822. 

You  were  informed  on  the  conclusion  of  the  Laybach 
Conferences  in  May  1821,  that  the  allied  Monarchs  and 
their  Cabinets  would  meet  in  the  course  of  1822  on  the 
proposal  of  the  Courts  of  Naples  and  Turin,  and  with 
the  concurrence  of  the  other  Italian  Courts,  to  arrange 
as  to  the  continuance  of  the  measures  which  had  been 
adopted  for  the  maintenance  of  peace  in  the  Peninsula 
after  the  sad  events  of  1820  and  1821. 

This  meeting  has  now  taken  place,  and  it  is  our 
present  purpose  to  make  known  to  you  its  results. 

By  the  Convention,  signed  July  24, 1821,  atNovara, 
the  provisional  formation  of  a  military  hue  in  Piedmont 

*  This  circular  despatch  was  sent  by  Prince  Metternich  to  the  Munich 
political  paper  for  publication,  as  is  shown  by  a  letter  from  Metternich  dated 
Munich,  January  .3,  1823:  — 

'.  .  .  I  had  a  long  conference  tbis  morning  with  Messieurs  de  Rechberg, 
Wrede,  and  Zentner,  where  I  obtained  as  good  terms  as  I  possibly  could 
for  my  great  affair.  My  presence  here  will  do  much  good,  but  it  naturally 
excites  the  attention  of  the  Liberals.  This  attention  has  been  brought  to  a 
height  by  the  insertion  which  I  have  managed  to-day  of  the^circular  despatch 
of  the  three  Courts,  and  of  the  despatch  of  M.  de  Villeta  to  M.  de  La  Garde 
in  the  Munich  Gazette.  I  shall  hear  this  evening  the  kind  of  sensation 
which  these  two  pieces  will  have  produced  on  the  public' 

In  the  Frankfort  Journal  of  January  6,  1823,  this  despatch  is  translated 
into  French. — Ed. 


656  CONGRESS   OF  VERONA. 

by  a  corps  of  auxiliaries  for  one  year  was  arranged, 
with  the  reservation  to  decide  at  the  meeting  in  the 
year  1822  whether  the  condition  of  the  country  re- 
quired the  longer  continuance  of  this  measure,  or 
whether  it  might  be  repealed. 

The  plenipotentiaries  of  those  Courts  which  had 
signed  the  Convention  of  Novara,  together  with  the  ple- 
nipotentiaries of  his  Majesty  the  King  of  Sardinia,  en- 
tered upon  this  investigation,  and  it  was  decided  that 
the  presence  of  an  auxiliary  force  was  no  longer  neces- 
sary to  preserve  peace  in  Piedmont.  The  King  of  Sar- 
dinia himself  pointed  out  the  mode  in  which  the  gradual 
retreat  of  the  auxiliaries  should  be  effected  ;  and  it  de- 
termined by  a  new  convention  that  the  departure  of  the 
troops  from  Piedmont  should  begin  on  December  31 
and  conclude  on  September  30,  1823,  with  the  evacua- 
tion of  the  fortress  of  Alessandria. 

His  Majesty  the  King  of  the  Two  Sicilies,  who  had 
taken  part  in  the  Convention  at  Naples  on  October  18,  also 
declared  to  the  three  Courts  that  the  present  condition 
of  his  country  permitted  him  to  propose  a  reduction 
in  the  number  of  the  auxiliaries  stationed  at  different 
places.  The  allied  sovereigns  have  had  no  hesitation  in 
actino-  on  this  proposal,  and  the  auxiliary  forces  stationed 
in  the  Two  Sicilies  will  be  as  quickly  as  possible  reduced 
to  seventeen  thousand  men. 

Everything  therefore  goes  on  according  to  the  wishes 
of  the  monarchs  as  expressed  by  them  at  the  conclusion 
of  the  Congress  of  Laybach,  when  they  declared  '  that, 
far  from  de^ring  to  extend  their  intervention  in  the 
affairs  of  Italy  beyond  the  limits  of  stern  necessity,  they 
cherished  the  desire  that  the  state  of  things  which  im- 
posed this  painful  duty  upon  them  would  soon  pass 
away  never  to   return.'     Thus    disappeared    the    false 


CIRCULAR   DESPATCH.  657 

alarms,  hostile  constructions,  and  gloomy  prophecies 
which  have  been  disseminated  over  Europe  by  ignorance 
or  perfidy,  to  mislead  the  people  as  to  the  pure  and 
noble  intentions  of  the  monarchs.  No  secret  scheme, 
no  ambition,  no  calculation  of  their  own  advantage 
united  them  in  the  determination  which  an  imperious 
necessity  alone  had  dictated  to  them  in  1821.  To  make 
a  stand  against  revolution,  to  overcome  the  disorders, 
troubles,  and  crimes  which  had  overspread  Italy,  and 
restore  this  country  to  peace  and  order ;  to  afford  to 
legitimate  Governments  the  protection  to  which  they 
had  a  right — these  were  the  objects  to  which  the  thoughts 
and  the  efforts  of  the  monarchs  were  solely  directed. 
In  proportion  as  those  objects  are  attained  they  have 
withdrawn  and  will  continue  to  withdraw  the  assist- 
ance which  necessity  alone  called  for  and  justifies.  They 
think  themselves  happy  to  be  able  to  leave  the  security 
and  peace  of  the  people  to  the  care  of  the  Princes 
whom  Providence  has  entrusted  with  it,  thus  taking; 
away  the  last  pretext  for  the  calumny  which  cast  a 
doubt  on  the  independence  of  the  Italian  sovereigns. 

The  object  of  the  Congress  of  Verona,  assigned  to  it 
by  a  definite  Convention,  was  fulfilled  by  the  resolutions 
passed  for  the  relief  of  Italy.  But  the  allied  sovereigns 
and  their  Cabinets  cannot  but  glance  at  two  great  dif- 
ficulties with  tlie  progress  of  which  they  have  been 
much  occupied  since  the  Congress  at  Laybach. 

An  event  of  great  importance  took  place  before  the 
conclusion  of  the  Congress.  What  the  spirit  of  revolu- 
tion began  in  the  Western  Peninsula,  what  was  at- 
tempted in  taly,  has  succeeded  in  the  East  of  Europe. 
At  the  very  moment  when  the  rebels  in  Naples  and 
Turin  were  retiring  at  the  approach  of  legitimate  power, 
a  rebellious  firebrand  was  cast  into  the  Ottoman  Empire. 
VOL.  III.  U  U 


658  CONGRESS   OF   VERONA. 

The  coincidence  of  the  events  leaves  no  doubt  as  to  the 
similarity  of  their  origin.  The  outbreak  of  the  evil  at 
so  many  different  points,  everywhere  conducted  in 
the  same  manner  and  using;  the  same  languaire,  un- 
mistakably  betrays  the  common  focus  from  whence  they 
all  issue.  The  instigators  of  this  movement  flattered 
themselves  that  the  counsels  of  the  Powers  would  be 
embarrassed  by  dissensions  and  their  forces  neutralised 
by  the  cry  of  new  dangers  in  different  parts  of  Europe. 
The  hope  was  vain.  The  monarchs,  determined  to  refute 
the  maxims  of  rebellion  in  whatever  place  and  under 
whatever  form  they  might  appear,  at  once  declared 
their  unanimous  decision.  They  will  pursue  the  objects 
of  their  common  care  with  unremitting  attention,  with- 
standing every  coUwsideration  which  might  turn  them 
from  their  path  ;  they  will  follow  the  voice  of  conscience 
and  duty,  and  uphold  the  cause  of  humanity  in  behalf 
of  the  victims  of  an  enterprise  as  rash  as  it  is  criminal. 

During  this  period — one  of  the  most  remarkable 
in  the  history  of  their  alliance— numerous  confidential 
communications  took  place  between  the  live  Courts, 
which  had  established  such  a  satisfactory  understanding 
in  regard  to  the  Eastern  question  that  when  they  met 
at  Yerona  the  results  only  of  that  understanding  had 
to  be  set  forth,  and  the  Powers  friendly  with  Eussia 
hope  by  common  effort  to  put  aside  every  obstacle  to 
the  entire  fulfilment  of  her  wishes. 

Other  events  have  called  the  attention  of  the 
monarchs  to  the  pitiable  condition  of  the  Western 
Peninsula. 

Spain  is  now  undergoing  the  fate  which  awaits  all 
States  unfortunate  enough  to  seek  what  is  good  in  a 
way  in  which  it  can  never  be  found.  It  is  passing 
through  the  fateful  circle  of  its  revolution,  a  revolution 


CIRCULAR   DESPATCH.  659 

which,  dekided  or  evil-disposed  men  represent  as  a  be- 
nefit, or  indeed  a  triumph,  of  the  enlightened  century. 
All  Governments  are  witnesses  of  the  zeal  with  which 
these  men  seek  to  persuade  their  comrades  that  this 
revolution  is  the  necessary  and  wholesome  fruit  of 
advanced  civilisation,  and  the  means  by  which  it  acts 
and  is  supported  the  noblest  flight  of  enthusiastic  love 
for  the  fatherland.  If  civilisation  can  have  for  its  aim 
the  destruction  of  human  society,  and  if  it  were  pos- 
sible to  admit  that  the  armed  force  which  is  only  meant 
for  the  preservation  of  peace  in  the  kingdom  can  seize 
the  Government  of  that  kingdom  unpunished,  certainly 
the  Spanish  revolution  may  claim  the  admiration  of  the 
age,  and  the  military  rising  of  the  island  of  Leon  may 
serve  as  a  jDattern  for  reformers.  But  truth  has  soon 
asserted  her  rights,  and  Spain  only  presents  another  sad 
example  (at  the  cost  of  her  happiness  and  her  fame)  of 
the  inevitable  consequences  of  such  transgressions  of  the 
eternal  laws  of  the  moral  order  of  the  world. 

Legitimate  power  fettered  and  turned  into  an  instru- 
ment for  the  overthrow  of  all  rights  and  all  lawful  liberty  ; 
all  classes  of  the  people  drawn  into  the  stream  of  revo- 
lutionary agitation  ;  caprice  and  oppression  exercised 
under  tlie  guise  of  laws  ;  a  whole  kingdom  given  up  to 
disorders  and  convulsions  of  every  kind  ;  rich  colonies 
preparing  to  set  themselves  free  by  the  same  maxims  with 
which  the  mother  country  has  built  up  its  pubhc  rights, 
and  which  it  vainly  condemns  in  another  hemisphere  ;  the 
last  resources  of  the  country  destroyed  by  civil  war — ■ 
this  is  the  picture  which  Spain  now  presents,  these  are  the 
vexations  Avith  which  a  noble  people  worthy  of  a  better 
fate  is  afflicted  ;  lastly,  these  are  the  grounds  of  the 
just  anxiety  which  such  a  concurrence  of  the  elements 
of  discontent  and  confusion  must  awake  in  the  countries 

V  V  2 


660  CONGRESS   OF   VERONA. 

contiguous  to  the  Peninsula.  If  ever  a  Power  was 
raised  in  the  very  heart  of  civihsation  hostile  to  the 
principles  of  conservation,  to  the  principles  on  which 
the  European  confederation  rests,  that  Power  is  Spain 
in  its  present  state  of  decomposition. 

Can  the  monarchs  look  with  equanimity  on  the  evils 
heaped  on  one  country  which  are  accompanied  with  so 
many  dangers  for  others  ?  Dependent  only  on  their 
own  judgment  and  their  own  conscience  in  this  grave 
juncture  of  affairs,  they  must  ask  themselves  whether  it 
can  be  longer  permitted  to  remain  quiet  spectators  of 
calamities  which  daily  threaten  to  become  more  dan- 
gerous and  more  horrible,  or  even  by  the  presence  of  their 
representatives  give  the  false  appearance  of  a  silent  con- 
sent to  the  measures  of  a  faction  ready  to  do  anything 
to  maintain  and  support  their  pernicious  power.  The 
decision  of  the  monarchs  cannot  be  doubtful.  Their  am- 
bassadors have  received  orders  to  leave  the  Peninsula. 

Whatever  may  be  the  result  of  this  step,  the 
monarchs  declare  before  Europe  that  nothing  can  move 
them  to  waver  in  a  resolution  approved  by  their  most 
heartfelt  convictions.  The  greater  the  friendship  they 
entertain  for  tlie  King  of  Spain,  the  liveher  their  interest 
in  the  well-being  of  a  nation  which  has  ever  been  dis- 
tinguished for  its  virtues  and  its  grandeur,  the  more 
strongly  do  they  feel  the  necessity  of  taking  the  measure 
on  which  they  have  decided,  and  which  they  will  know 
how  to  maintain. 

The  above  statements  will  convince  you  tliat  the 
monarchs  in  their  last  negotiations  have  remained 
unalterably  true  to  those  principles  which  have  given 
them  so  great  an  influence  in  all  the  chief  questions  of 
our  day  relating  to  order  and  conservation.  Their 
alhance,  essentially  supported  and  maintained  on  those 


CIECULAR  DESPATCH.  661 

principles,  far  from  losing  its  earlier  character,  from 
time  to  time  gains  in  strength  and  solidity.  It  would 
be  superfluous  further  to  vindicate  tlieir  just  and  be- 
nignant sentiments  from  the  unworthy  calumnies  which 
are  every  day  refuted  by  notorious  facts.  All  Europe 
must  at  last  acknowledge  that  the  system  followed  in 
the  most  perfect  harmony  by  the  monarchs  equally 
conduces  to  the  strength  and  independence  of  Govern- 
ments and  the  true  interests  of  the  people.  They  know 
no  enemies  but  those  who,  conspiring  against  the 
rightful  power  of  the  one  and  the  good  feehng  of  tlie 
other,  draw  both  into  one  abyss.  The  wishes  of  the 
monarchs  are  directed  towards  peace  alone,  but  this 
peace,  although  thoroughly  estabhshed  between  the 
Powers,  cannot  spread  the  fullness  of  its  beneficence 
over  the  whole  of  society  so  long  as  the  fermentation  at 
work  in  some  countries  is  fostered  by  the  false  per- 
suasions and  criminal  efforts  of  a  faction  which 
conceives  nothing  but  revolution  and  rebellion — so  long 
as  the  heads  and  instruments  of  this  faction,  whether 
by  taking  the  field  openly  against  thrones  and  Govern- 
ments, or  brooding  in  secrecy,  prepare  their  hostile 
plots  or  poison  the  public  mind,  terrifying  the  peoj)le 
with  subversive  and  lying  representations  of  the  present 
and  gloomy  anxieties  for  the  future.  The  wisest 
measures  of  the  Governments  cannot  succeed,  the  best- 
intentioned  plans  of  reform  have  no  result,  confidence 
cannot  return  to  men,  till  this  fosterer  of  the  most 
hateful  machinations  is  reduced  to  complete  impotence  ; 
and  the  monarclis  will  not  feel  that  they  liave  concluded 
theii  great  work  till  tliey  have  torn  from  this  faction  the 
weapons  witli  which  it  threatens  the  peace  of  the  world. 
While  imparting  to  the  Court  to  which  you  are 
accredited  the  facts  and  explanations  set  forth  in  tliis 


662  CONGRESS  OF   VEEONA. 

document,  you  will  at  the  same  time  call  to  remem- 
brance what  the  monarch s  consider  to  be  the  inevitable 
condition  of  the  fulfilment  of  their  benevolent  desires. 
In  order  to  guarantee  to  Europe,  not  merely  the  peace 
which  it  enjoys  by  the  protection  of  treaties,  but  that 
feeling  of  internal  repose  and  lasting  security  without 
which  in  nations  no  true  happiness  can  exist,  they  must 
be  able  to  rely  on  the  loyal  and  persistent  co-operation 
of  all  the  Governments.  In  the  name  of  their  own  b.est 
interests,  in  the  name  of  the  public  order  whose  preser- 
vation is  concerned,  in  the  name  of  the  future  races  of 
mankind,  we  invite  you  to  this  co-operation.  May  the 
Governments  all  be  imbued  with  the  great  truth  that 
power  is  given  into  their  hands  as  a  sacred  deposit  of 
which  they  must  give  an  account  to  their  people  and 
their  successors,  and  that  they  expose  themselves  to  the 
gravest  responsibility  if  they  fall  into  errors  or  listen  to 
counsels  which  sooner  or  later  wiU  deprive  them  of  the 
possibility  of  defending  their  subjects  from  the  ruin 
which  they  themselves  have  prepared.  The  monarchs 
are  confident  that  they  will  find  in  those  who  are  in 
supreme  authority  (in  whatever  form  it  may  be)  true 
friends  and  allies — alHes  who  adhere,  not  merely  to  the 
letter  and  to  the  positive  declarations  of  the  negotiations, 
but  also  to  the  spirit  and  the  principles  on  which  the 
present  European  system  is  founded,  and  they  flatter 
themselves  that  this  declaration  will  be  taken  as  a 
fresh  proof  of  their  unalterable  intention  to  devote  all 
the  resources  entrusted  to  them  by  Providence  to  the 
welfare  of  Europe. 


METTERNICH   TO   OTTENFELS.  663 

Metternich  to  Ottenfels,  in  Co7istant{7ioj)le,  Venice, 
December  21,  1822. 

633.  It  would  be  difficult  to  add  anything  in  the 
way  of  instructions  to  the  preceding  despatch.  The 
Protocols  of  our  Conferences  at  Verona  tell  everything, 
and  the  final  conditions  of  any  possible  arrangement  are 
there  given.  The  results  of  these  conditions  are  as 
follows  : — - 

1.  That  the  Porte  should  as  an  act  of  courtesy  to 
Russia  announce  the  determinations  already  taken  and 
carried  out  with  regard  to  the  Principalities. 

2.  Tliat  the  Porte  shall  arrange  amicably  with  the 
Courts  who  demand  the  navigation  of  the  Black  Sea, 
unless  she  prefers  to  continue  the  abuses  to  which  the 
Eussian  flag,  granted  to  so  many  foreign  vessels,  has 
offered  facilities.  Of  the  two  the  Porte  must  prefer  the 
first  of  these  alternatives,  which  is  by  far  the  most  ad- 
vantageous. 

o.  Finally,  that  the  Porte  shall  herself  pacify  Greece. 

Everything  is  included  in  these  three  points,  for 
the  resumption  of  the  ordinary  diplomatic  relations  do 
not  deserve  to  occupy  our  attention  seriously ;  the 
advantage  of  this  resumption  is  so  much  on  the  side  of 
Eussia  that  interest,  and  interest  only,  will  here  do  all 
that  the  Powers  may  be  excused  from  attempting. 

I  advise  the  most  entire  agreement  with  Lord 
Strangford.  This  ambassador  must  have  learned  to 
know  the  truth  of  the  situation,  for  he  has  seen  it  on 
the  spot.  He  arrived  at  Vienna  under  the  most  un- 
favourable auspices  for  himself;  he  quitted  Verona 
in  possession  of  the  undoubted  confidence  of  the 
Emperor  of  Eussia.  I,  for  my  part,  have  contributed 
to  this   fact  as  much  as  possible.       Lord    Strangford 


C64  CONGRESS   OF  VERONA. 

knows  it,  and  oiiglit  to  be  pleased.  He  ought  to  be 
convinced  of  two  great  truths,  whicli  he  can  never  keep 
too  much  before  him  —namely,  that  the  Emperor  Alex- 
ander sincerely  desires  to  see  the  end  of  the  trouble  in 
the  East,  although  he  has  a  very  just  feeling  of  the 
numberless  difficulties  which  any  grave  error  com- 
mitted by  the  Divan  may  throw  in  the  way  of  the 
realisation  of  his  peaceful  intentions. 

As  to  the  point  of  view  of  our  Cabinet,  Lord 
Strangford  must  be  satisfied  that  nothing  can  be 
clearer  or  more  disinterested  than  our  fears  and  our 
desires.  The  course  you  personally  take  will  be  ex- 
tremely helpful  to  us.  Unite  openly  in  pursuing  the 
same  aims  as  the  British  ambassador,  and  take  care 
to  give  me  every  possible  proof  of  zeal  in  supporting 
the  conditions  which  Eussia  has  presented  as  decisive. 

The  Emperor  Francis  to  King  Max  Josef  of  Bavaria, 
l7insbimck,  December  30,  1822. 

634.  Monsieur  mon  Frere  et  Beau-Pere  ! — I  think 
it  may  be  agreeable  to  your  Majesty  to  be  informed 
of  the  particulars  of  the  business  which  has  just  been 
concluded  at  Verona.  I  have  therefore  ordered  Prince 
Metternich  to  pass  through  Munich  in  returning  to 
Vienna.  He  will  give  your  Majesty  an  account  of  the 
results  at  which  the  Congress  has  arrived,  and  of  my 
view  as  to  tlie  good  which  will  result  for  the  federation 
from  the  application  of  the  same  principles  in  Germany. 
The  views  and  sentiments  of  your  Majesty  agreeing 
with  mine,  I  do  not  doubt  your  satisfaction  with  all  that 
you  learn  from  my  Chancellor. 

I  myself  sincerely  regret  that  it  was  not  possible  to 
see  your  Majesty  on  my  return  to  Austria.     The  severity 


METTERNICH   TO   EMrEROR   ALEXANDER.  665 

of  tlie  season  and  the  necessity  for  my  return  lo  my 
capital  prevent  a  pleasure  which  I  only  put  off  to  the 
first  convenient  opportunity. 
Eeceive,  etc.,  etc. 

Francis. 

King  Max  Josef  of  Bavaria  to  the   Emperor   Francis, 
Munich,  January  3,  1823. 

635.  Monsieur  mon  Frere  et  Beau-Fils ! — Prince 
Metternich  has  brought  me  your  Majesty's  letter  from 
Innsbruck,  and  has  lost  no  time  in  informing  me  of  all 
the  important  affairs  which  were  discussed  under  your 
Majesty's  happy  auspices  at  Verona. 

I  have  had  great  pleasure  in  conversing  with  your 
Majesty's  Chancellor,  who  has  so  materially  assisted  in 
bringing  about  the  grand  results  of  the  Congress,  and  to 
whose  care  Europe  owes  the  tranquillity  she  has  enjoyed 
during  the  last  few  years.  He  will  inform  your  Majesty 
of  my  sentiments,  and  of  the  agreement  of  my  views  con- 
cerning Germany  with  the  principles  professed  by  the 
allied  Powers. 

Your  Imperial  Majesty  will  believe  how  much  I 
regretted  the  impossibility  of  seeing  your  Majesty  when 
passing  through  my  country :  the  extreme  severity  of 
the  season  alone  prevented  me  from  coming  to  meet 
your  Majesty. 

Eeceive,  etc.,  etc. 

Max  Joseph 

Metternich  to  the  Emperor  Alexander,  a  private  Memoran- 
dum on  the  Formation  of  a  Central  Commission  of  the 
Northern  Powers  in  Vienna.      Verona  {no  date). 

636.  Of  all  the  evils  that  now  afllict  the  social 
body,  that  which  ought  especially  to  arrest  the  atten- 


666  CONGRESS   OF   VERONA. 

tion  of  the  Governments  is  the  criminal  part  played  by 
the  different  sects. 

One  of  the  weakest  sides  of  the  human  mind  is  the 
inchnation  which  in  all  ages  has  attracted  it  towards 
the  vague  domain  of  mysticism.  There  are  a  number 
of  uneasy  spirits  who  are  tormented  by  the  necessity  of 
creating  some  occupation  for  themselves,  whose  activity, 
unable  to  fix  on  objects  of  definite  utility,  urges  them 
towards  the  most  sterile  abstractions.  Duj)es  of  their 
disordered  imagination,  dupes  of  whoever  will  serve 
their  mania  for  irregular  schemes,  these  men  have  con- 
stantly been  like  plants  in  a  nursery  for  the  secret 
societies. 

The  societies  have  always  been  influenced  by  the 
varying  character  of  the  age.  If  there  are  among 
them  some  who  have  remained  faithful  to  certain  prin- 
ciples of  their  primitive  institution,  the  greater  number 
are  always  ready  to  depart  from  them  and  yield  to  the 
powerful  impulses  of  the  moment.  Thus  it  is  that  in  a 
time  of  religious  exaltation,  secret  associations  are  armed 
for  the  maintenance  of  this  or  that  do^ma.  Now  that 
the  spirit  of  the  age  is  directed  towards  reforms  in 
the  modes  of  government,  these  same  associations 
exercise  all  their  troublesome  activity  in  the  field  of 
politics. 

Where  the  secret  societies  do  not  go  to  meet  factions, 
these  factions,  knowing  the  advantage  to  be  gained 
from  the  sects,  are  not  slow  to  find  tliem  out. 

It  is  necessary  to  point  out  three  principal  epochs 
from  which  may  be  dated  the  extraordinary  extension 
acquired  by  the  sects  of  late. 

The  French  Ee  volution,  at  its  commencement, 
caused  the  suspension  of  the  work  of  the  sects.  The 
arena  was  open  to  all  the  aberrations  of  the  human 


METTERNICH  TO   EMPEROR  ALEXANDER.  6G7 

mind  as  to  all  its  ambitions ;  what  would  tlie  adepts 
have  gained  by  secret  conventicles  ?  They  had  plunged 
themselves  into  a  career  which,  while  flattering  the 
dreams  of  their  imagination,  offered  the  prospect  of  a 
brilHant  fortune.  Thus  the  revolutionary  administra- 
tions in  France  were  recruited  from  the  sects,  and  the 
Masonic  lodges  found  themselves  empty  ;  in  the  same 
way  we  have  seen  the  revolutionary  army  of  Naples 
fill  up  its  ranks  with  malcontenti.  It  was  under  the 
Empire,  and  as  a  consequence  of  the  expurgations  made 
by  Bonaparte  in  the  administrations,  that  the  secret 
societies  began  to  be  reconstituted.  Strong  of  will, 
Bonaparte  calculated  that,  instead  of  employing  useless 
efforts  to  hinder  their  reorganisation,  it  would  be  easier 
to  him  to  restrain  them  by  subjecting  them  to  a  severe 
control,  and  even  making  them  subserve  his  designs. 
Hence,  while  covering  them  with  ridicule,  he  managed 
to  estabhsh  an  active  police  in  the  associations  which 
seemed  to  him  susceptible  of  being  guided  ;  towards 
all  the  others,  on  the  contrary,  he  displayed  an  inflexible 
severity. 

The  fall  of  Bonaparte  delivered  the  world  from  an 
immense  weight,  but  this  weight  having  pressed  on 
both  good  and  bad,  good  and  bad  both  alike  felt 
released  from  the  shackles  which  had  bound  them. 
Unhappily  the  elements  of  the  good  were  distorted  or 
paralysed,  while  those  of  the  evil  did  not  remain  in- 
active, and  the  revolutionary  spirit  was  soon  seen  to 
take  a  new  fliglit. 

But  the  factions  themselves  were  not  long  in  dis- 
covering that  the  people,  wearied  by  so  many  violent 
shocks,  were  no  longer  disposed  to  serve  their  designs 
actively  or  en  masse.  It  was  reserved  to  the  country 
the    most  withdrawn  from  civihsation,   and  unhappily 


GG8  COXGKESS  OF   VERONA. 

the  most  internally  excited,  to  create  a  new  mode  of 
brinojino-  about  disorders. 

A  general  uneasiness  reigned  in  Spain ;  no  people, 
however,  were  further  from  rising  than  the  Spanish 
people.  Thus  the  revolution  of  1820  was  the  direct 
work  of  a  conspiracy  hatched  in  secret,  prepared  and 
arranged  by  means  of  a  secret  association.  If  there 
could  be  a  doubt  of  the  truth  of  this  fact  it  would  be 
removed  by  the  indiscreet  avowals  made  public  by  one 
of  the  most  active  and  shameless  of  the  instruments  of 
military  rebellion  in  the  Isle  de  Leon. 

A  Government  which  was  a  perfect  cipher  was 
unable  to  destroy  what  crime  had  brought  forth.  The 
success  of  the  conspiracy  of  the  Isle  de  Leon  marked 
the  second  epoch  in  the  progress  made  by  the  secret 
societies. 

The  revolutions  in  Italy  in  1820,  and  above  all  in 
1821,  seem  to  show  the  third. 

If  the  military  revolt  in  Naples  may  be  regarded 
as  merely  a  servile  imitation  of  that  of  the  Isle  de  Leon, 
this  cannot  be  the  case  with  the  Piedmontese  revolution. 
This  was  evidently  directed  by  the  dissidents  of  France, 
and  if  enlightened  observers  had  long  suspected  the 
existence  of  a  vast  revolutionary  association  in  Paris 
connected  with  those  in  foreign  countries,  the  open 
revolution  at  Turin  tore  away  the  veil  that  had  up  to 
that  time  concealed  its  character. 

There  seems  to  us  a  real  interest  in  studying  the 
characteristic  differences  which  exist  in  the  two  Italian 
revolutions.  One  was  more  local  than  the  other.  The 
genius  of  the  Neapolitans  and  that  of  the  Piedmontese, 
even  the  geographical  position  of  the  two  States,  was 
bound  to  make,  and  actually  did  make,  a  notable 
difference  in  the  two  revolutions.     We  believe  we  do 


METTERNICH   TO   ExMPEROIl   ALEXANDER.  669 

not  go  too  far  in  considering  the  Neapolitan  revolution 
as  the  work  of  pure  Carbonarism,  owing  its  origin 
to  no  other  but  national  sources,  although  it  may- 
have  been  fomented  and  supported  by  Spanish  in- 
fluence. The  revolution  in  the  Sardinian  States  on  the 
contrary  was  placed  under  the  combined  direction  of 
the  Piedmontese  revolutionists  and  the  French  dis- 
sidents. If  this  assertion  were  not  otherwise  supported 
we  should  find  undoubted  proof  in  the  moral  situation  of 
the  two  kingdoms. 

That  of  Naples  seems  to  us  much  further  from  a 
revolution  such  as  that  of  1820  than  Piedmont  is  or 
mil  be  for  a  lon^  time. 

The  organisation  of  secret  societies  in  France,  such 
as  exist  now,  does  not  seem  to  go  further  back  than 
1820.  The  proceedings  commenced  in  Germany  in 
1819-1820,  and  the  labours  of  the  Central  Commission 
of  Inquiry  at  Mayence  furnish  more  than  one  proof 
that  the  German  revolutionists  at  that  time  entertained 
but  very  indirect  relations  with  the  revolutionary 
centre  in  Paris.  It  was  onlv  after  the  measures 
taken  at  Carlsbad  had  forced  the  principal  heads  of 
the  secret  associations  in  Germany  to  seek  a  refuge 
in  France,  that  many  of  them  betook  themselves  to 
Paris,  where  they  found  little  opportunity  of  coming 
to  an  understanding  with  the  French  Liberals.  Hatred 
against  Bonaparte  gave  the  first  impulse  to  the  secret 
associations  in  Germany,  and  this  fact  caused  a  difficulty 
in  approaching  the  French  leaders.  The  philanthropic 
nonsense  of  Teutonic  professors  and  students  made  them 
despised  by  those  of  the  factions  who  were  too  practical 
to  be  caught  by  such  follies.  It  was  only  after  the  year 
1821  that  direct  relations  could  be  estabhshed  between 
the  German  and  French  revolutionists,  and  at  the  head 


670  CONGRESS   OF  VERONA. 

of  the  former  were  the  German  Bonapartists.  The 
places  in  Germany  most  remarkable  as  showing  the 
combination  of  French  and  German  revolutionary 
material  are  the  kingdom  of  Wurtemberg,  the  town  of 
Frankfurt,  and  some  Swiss  towns.  Those  who  in  these 
places  played  the  first  parts  were  the  brothers  Murhard, 
some  other  literary  men  at  Frankfort,  and  the  editors  of 
the  Gazette  dii  NecJcar.  This  paper  is  under  the  im- 
mediate influence  of  the  director  of  the  committee  in 
Paris,  and  his  chief  editor,  Dr.  Lindner,  has  acted  for 
several  years  as  agent  for  Bonaparte  in  Germany.  The 
second  editor  was  a  commissary  of  j)ohce  under  Bona- 
parte. 

Up  to  this  time  the  French  Eadicals  have  followed 
in  the  tracks  of  their  own  revolution.  Many  attempts 
made  in  France  to  excite  the  masses  to  rise  must  have 
proved  to  these  men  that  there  was  not  now  the  same 
chance  of  such  efforts  succeeding  as  in  1789  ;  on  the 
other  hand,  their  attention  could  not  but  be  fixed 
on  the  new  means  by  which  success  was  obtained  by 
the  military  revolt  in  Spain,  and  as  the  same  means 
afterwards  was  able  to  overturn  the  legitimate  Govern- 
ment at  Naples  in  three  days,  the  French  revolutionists 
must  adopt  it  as  the  most  efficacious  and  expeditious. 
We  feel  the  less  hesitation  in  placing  the  introduction 
of  Carbonarism  into  France  no  further  back  than  the 
year  1820 — or  perhaps  even  the  commencement  of  the 
following  year — because  we  see  in  the  revolutionary 
outbreak  in  Piedmont  traces  of  two  distinct  influences, 
which  doubtless  had  the  same  object,  but  proceeded  in 
a  different  manner.  The  revolt  in  Turin  was  evidently 
directed  and  prepared  by  the  joint  efforts  of  the  Pied- 
montese  and  French  revolutionists,  whilst  that  in  Ales- 
sandria, of  which  all  the  machinery  was  put  in  motion 


METTERNICH   TO   EMPEROR   ALEXANDER.  671 

by  pure  Carbonarism  seemed  to  be  quite  separate  from 
that  in  the  capitaL 

The  very  secrecy  of  associations  of  this  kind  assists 
their  rapid  progress.  Thus,  in  all  the  attempts  that 
have  been  made  during  the  last  ten  months  to  organise 
military  revolts  in  France,  we  see  the  tools  of  French 
Carbonarism  playing  a  part  everywhere. 

Having  shown  in  this  rapid  sketch  the  pernicious 
influence  exercised  by  the  sects  on  the  great  political 
concussions  of  late  years,  we  do  not  hesitate  to  assert  that 
these  societies  are  a  malady  which  consumes  the  noblest 
parts  of  the  social  body  and  that  the  roots  of  this  evil  are 
already  deep  and  widespread.  If  the  Governments  do 
not  take  vigorous  measures  not  only  to  prevent  its 
ultimate  progress,  but  to  restrain  it  within  manageable 
limits,  Europe  runs  the  risk  of  falling  under  the  ever- 
renewed  attacks  of  these  associations.  But  that  the 
remedy  m^ay  be  efficacious  the  danger  must  be  faced, 
and  since  the  evil  conceals  itself  in  darkness,  it  must  be 
sought  foK  and  attacked  with  a  force  equal  to  its 
own. 

The  factions  at  present  employ  two  means.  One  is 
the  formation  of  secret  societies  and  all  kinds  of  sects  ; 
of  these  the  most  practical  is  that  of  Carbonarism. 
This  institution,  which  arose  among  a  people  little 
civilised  but  excitable  and  enthusiastic,  bears  the  im- 
press of  their  character.  Quick  in  conceiving  projects, 
the  Southern  Italian  executes  them  with  equal  facility. 
One  end  in  view,  and  that  clearly  set  forth  in  the  higher 
grades  of  the  association  ;  simple  means  and  plans,  free 
from  the  metaphysical  rubbish  of  Masonry  ;  a  govern- 
ment really  reserved  for  its  leaders  ;  a  certain  number 
of  grades  to  classify  individuals  ;  disobedience  and  indis- 
cretion punished  by  the  poignard  as  well  as  enemies — 


672  CONGRESS  OF  VERONA. 

sucli  is  Carbonarism,  which  of  all  the  political  sects 
seems  to  have  approached  tlie  most  nearly  to  perfection 
in  its  practical  organisation. 

The  factions  have  found  a  second  means  in  the 
fusion  of  their  interests  and  the  establishment  of  a 
central  point  of  direction.  Nationality,  political  limits, 
everything  disappears  with  the  sect.  The  committee 
which  leads  the  Eadicals  tliroughout  Europe  is,  no 
doubt,  at  Paris,  and  every  day  will  show  this  more  and 
more. 

What  means  have  the  Governments  to  oppose  to  this 
evil  ? 

We  know  but  two  : — 

In  the  first  place  they  must  make  common  cause 
and  unite  in  one  the  interest  of  each  in  his  own  pre- 
servation ;  in  the  second  place  they  must  establish  a 
central  focus  for  information  and  direction. 

The  faction  aims  equally  at  all  the  States ;  pure 
monarchies,  constitutional  monarchies,  republics,  all 
are  threatened  by  the  levellers. 

Never  has  the  world  shown  examples  of  union  and 
solidity  in  great  political  bodies  like  those  given  by 
Eussia,  Austria,  and  Prussia  in  the  course  of  the  last 
few  years.  By  separating  carefully  the  concerns  of 
self-preservation  from  ordinary  politics,  and  by  sub- 
ordinating all  individual  interests  to  the  common  and 
general  interest,  the  monarchs  have  found  the  true 
means  of  maintaining  their  holy  union  and  accomplish- 
ing the  enormous  good  which  they  have  accomplished, 
France  is  now  pa3dng  dearly  for  the  illusions  to  which 
her  last  administrations  were  given  up.  The  present 
ministry  seems  to  take  a  course  tending  towards  the 
principle  of  alliance.  England  must  always  be  placed 
in  a  class  by  herself  with  regard  to  the  present  question. 


METTERNICH   TO   EMPEROR   ALEXANDER.  673 

However  enlightened  and  honest  may  be  the  intentions 
of  her  Government,  her  pohcy  on  any  of  the  points 
touched  on  in  this  memoir  can  never  be  identified 
entirely  with  that  of  the  Continental  Powers. 

As  this  solidarite  exists  between  the  three  Northern 
Courts,  it  is  necessary  to  bring  the  French  Government 
to  join  in  it  as  much  as  possible.  This  will  be  done  more 
easily  by  one  step  actually  taken  than  by  explanations 
and  reasonings  on  the  necessity  of  this  solidarite.  The 
step  to  be  taken  should,  we  think,  be  the  creation  of  a 
centre  of  information  to  be  obtained  from  every  direc- 
tion. 

To  this  end  we  propose  the  following  measure. 
The  Emperor  of  Russia  and  the  King  of  Prussia  shall 
depute  an  individual  worthy  of  all  confidence  at  Vienna. 
The  Emperor  of  Austria  on  his  part  will  select  an 
employe  of  his  Government.  These  three  persons  shall 
form  a  secret  committee.  This  committee  is  intended 
to  form  a  central  point  of  information.  To  this  end 
each  Government  will  take  measures  to  bring  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  committee  all  the  traces  of  conspiracy 
which  they  may  discover. 

The  Central  Commission  of  Inquiry,  established  at 
Mayence,  will  continue  its  functions  agreeably  to  the 
almost  unanimous  desire  of  the  Confederation.  The 
labours  of  this  commission  will  come  under  the  inspection 
of  the  committee. 

The  resources  that  the  Governments  will  have  at 
their  disposal  will  be  very  different  from  those  of  the 
association  which  is  to  be  abolished.  The  Governments, 
strong  in  all  the  forces  of  a  vigilant  administration,  will 
have  less  to  fear  from  the  machinations  of  the  sect ; 
every  discovered  plot  loses  its  dangerous  character,  and 
furnishes    an   offensive   weapon   to   legal   power.      By 

VOL.  III.  X  X 


674  t^NGRESS   OF   VERONA. 

watching  over  the  lives  and  the  peace  of  their  people 
the  Governments  will  maintain  their  power  on  the 
ground  of  justice  and  right,  which  can  never  be  the 
case  with  sects,  whatever  may  be  the  mask  with  which 
they  are  covered. 


END    OF   THE   THIRD   VOLUME. 


8b  A 

A?  5-7 
A3 


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